Laser-induced ultrasonic waves in steels with gradient changes of elastic property

Taking account of the gradient changes of the near-surface elastic property, a model of multiple gradient layers on a semi-infinite substrate is established. A finite element method (FEM) model is developed to simulate the laser-induced thermo-elastic generation and propagation of acoustic waves in the system. The two-dimensional fast Fourier transform (2-D FFT) method has been used to analyze the ultrasonic signal. The phase velocity dispersion is obtained for a number of waves of different modes obtained and is analyzed in systems with different spatial variations of the material elastic properties and different affected layer depths. The model can be used to extract the elastic parameters of the near-surface regions in an effective way.