The propagation of ultrasound in an austenitic weld

The propagation of ultrasound through an austenitic weld is investigated ex perimentally as well as in a numerical simulation. The weld is insonified a t normal incidence to the fusion line with a longitudinal contact transduce r. In order to experimentally trace the ultrasound through the weld, slices of different thicknesses from the original weld have been fabricated. Thro ugh-transmission A-scans have then been produced for each weld slice and co mpared with the corresponding numerical simulation. A comparison of the dir ection of ultrasound propagation through the weld for the two approaches sh ows quite good agreement. However, attenuation due to scattering at grain b oundaries in the weld is poorly modelled in the simulation. In order to imp rove this, a better model of the weld is needed. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.