Interaction of shear horizontal bend (SHB) guided mode with defects

• Shear horizontal bend-guided (SHB) mode interaction with bend defects is studied.
• 3D finite element simulation results are validated by experiments.
• Wave mechanics principles underlying observed trends are brought out.
• SHB mode shown to yield improved through-thickness defect resolution capabilities.

The authors have recently reported on the attractive properties of shear-horizontal type feature guided (SHB) waves for the inspection of 90° plate bends. Further to this, here the interaction of the SHB mode with transverse and longitudinal defects in the bend region is studied using 3D finite element simulations validated by experiments. Trends are discussed in light of the underlying wave mechanics principles. The results show that the SHB mode yields improved through-thickness defect resolution capabilities as compared to regular plate guided SH waves in view of mode confinement and higher frequencies used.