Phase Velocity Method for Guided Wave Measurements in Composite Plates

Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer is a well-recognized material for aeronautic applications. Its plane structure has been widely used where anisotropic characteristics should be evaluated with flaw detection. A phase velocity method of ultrasonic guided waves based on a pitch-catch configuration is presented for this purpose. Both shear vertical (SV) and shear horizontal (SH) have been studied. For SV (Lamb waves) the measurements were done at different frequencies in order to evaluate the geometrical dispersion and elastic constants. The results for SV are discussed with an orthotropic elastic model. Finally experiments with lamination flaws are presented.