INTERACTION OF A GUIDED-WAVE WITH A NONUNIFORM ADHESION BOND

This paper presents theoretical considerations for the determination o f the diffraction of ultrasonic guided waves propagating in a nonunifo rm elastic adhesive layer. The nonuniformity results from changes in t he adhesion bond characteristics between the adhesive and the adherent layer. The bond strength is assumed to change both locally as well as periodically. The problem is solved by using the perturbation theory. The field of the reflected and transmitted waves is given in natural modes of the elastic waveguide layer. The theoretical model derived se rves as a reference for extracting acoustic wave parameters. These par ameters are correlated to adhesion strength. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.