The interaction of Rayleigh waves with delaminations in composite laminates.

In the present work, the interaction of Rayleigh waves with a delamination in a fiber reinforced composite plate was analyzed. Rayleigh waves, upon interacting with delamination mode, convert into Lamb waves in the delamination zone. These guided Lamb modes have the capability to mode convert back into Rayleigh modes when they interact with the edge of the delamination. A unidirectional glass/epoxy laminate with a delamination of known size was fabricated and tested using air-coupled ultrasonics. Finite element models were developed to understand the mode conversions occurring at various sections of the delamination. Particle displacements along with numerical and experimental velocities were considered to identify each mode. Conclusions were drawn based on the velocity analysis.