The objective of this book is to treat the behavior of ultrasonic waves as they interact with layered, anisotropic materials incorporating those structural aspects unique to composite laminates addressing both experimental and modeling methodologies. Anisotropic material interfaces, guided waves, waves in layered media and laminated plates are treated. The influence of finite-aperture transducers on electronic signals and the field of air-coupled ultrasonics end the work.

Physical Ultrasonics of Composites is a rigorous introduction to the characterization of composite materials by means of ultrasonic waves. Composites are treated here not simply as uniform media, but as inhomogeneous layered anisotropic media with internal structure characteristic of composite laminates. The objective here is to concentrate on exposing the singular behavior of ultrasonic waves as they interact with layered, anisotropic materials, materials which incorporate those structural elements typical of composite laminates. This book provides a synergistic description of both modeling and experimental methods in addressing wave propagation phenomena and composite property measurements. After a brief review of basic composite mechanics, a thorough treatment of ultrasonics in anisotropic media is presented, along with composite characterization methods. The interaction of ultrasonic waves at interfaces of anisotropic materials is discussed, as are guided waves in composite plates and rods. Waves in layered media are developed from the standpoint of the "Stiffness Matrix", a major advance over the conventional, potentially unstable Transfer Matrix approach. Laminated plates are treated both with the stiffness matrix and using Floquet analysis. The important influence on the received electronic signals in ultrasonic materials characterization from transducer geometry and placement are carefully exposed in a dedicated chapter. Ultrasonic wave interactions are especially susceptible to such influences because ultrasonic transducers are seldom more than a dozen or so wavelengths in diameter. The book ends with a chapter devoted to the emerging field of air-coupled ultrasonics. This new technology has come of age with the development of purpose-built transducers and electronics and is finding ever wider applications, particularly in the characterization of composite laminates.

This book contains 17 invited papers and 80 communicated papers presented at the International Symposium on Physical Acoustics, held at the University Campus of Kortrijk, Belgium, from 19-22 June 1990. The twenty-fifth anniversary of the Campus was celebrated with special activi ties such as concerts, exhibitions and scientific meetings. This symposium was a part of the celebration. The 120 participants came from 18 different countries. Among the largest groups we mention 32 French contributions and 19 contributions from the U.S.S.R. We especially thank Prof. V.V. Proklov from Moscow and Prof. S.V. Kulakov from Leningrad who helped us with the distribution of invitations in the U.S.S.R. We also thank Prof. G. Quentin and Ir B. Poiree from Paris who endeav oured to inform all French acousticians. We thank all the lecturers for their effort in producing the material for the book in time. The invited lectures have been collected and retyped by Prof. M. Breazeale (U.S.A.), while the contributed papers were collec ted by Prof. O. Leroy and retyped in Belgium. The first 200 pages of the book comprise the invited lectures, not classified by topic, but are in alphabetical order with reference to the first author. The second part of the book contains the contributed papers and posters also classified in alphabetical order according to the first author.

This book deals with all aspects of advanced composite materials; what they are, where they are used, how they are made, their properties, how they are designed and analyzed, and how they perform in-service. It covers both continuous and discontinuous fiber composites fabricated from polymer, metal, and ceramic matrices, with an emphasis on continuous fiber polymer matrix composites.

The increased use of polymer matrix composites in structural applications has led to the growing need for a very high level of quality control and testing of products to ensure and monitor performance over time. Non-destructive evaluation (NDE) of polymer matrix composites explores a range of NDE techniques and the use of these techniques in a variety of application areas.Part one provides an overview of a range of NDE and NDT techniques including eddy current testing, shearography, ultrasonics, acoustic emission, and dielectrics. Part two highlights the use of NDE techniques for adhesively bonded applications. Part three focuses on NDE techniques for aerospace applications including the evaluation of aerospace composites for impact damage and flaw characterisation. Finally, the use of traditional and emerging NDE techniques in civil and marine applications is explored in part four.With its distinguished editor and international team of expert contributors, Non-destructive evaluation (NDE) of polymer matrix composites is a technical resource for researchers and engineers using polymer matrix composites, professionals requiring an understanding of non-destructive evaluation techniques, and academics interested in this field. - Explores a range of NDE and NDT techniques and considers future trends - Examines in detail NDE techniques for adhesively bonded applications - Discusses NDE techniques in aerospace applications including detecting impact damage, ultrasonic techniques and structural health monitoring

Non Destructive Testing and Non Destructive Evaluation using Ultrasounds covers an important field of applications and requires a wide range of fundamental theoretical, numerical and experimental investigations. In the present volume, the reader will find some relevant research results on wave propagation in complex materials and structures which are concerned with today’s problems on composites, bonding, guided waves, contact or damage, imaging and structural noise. The fifth meeting of the Anglo-French Research Group on "Wave propagation in non homogeneous media with a view to Non Destructive testing" was held in Anglet, France, June 2-6, 2008.

This book presents a detailed description of the most common nondestructive testing(NDT) techniques used for the testing and evaluation fiber-reinforced composite structures, during manufacturing and/or in service stages. In order to facilitate the understanding and the utility of the different NDT techniques presented, the book first provides some information regarding the defects and material degradation mechanisms observed in fiber-reinforced composite structures as well as their general description and most probable causes. It is written based on the extensive scientific research and engineering backgrounds of the authors in the NDT and structural health monitoring (SHM) of structural systems from various areas including electrical, mechanical, materials, civil and biomedical engineering. Pursuing a rigorous approach, the book establishes a fundamental framework for the NDT of fiber-reinforced composite structures, while emphasizing on the importance of technique’s spatial resolution, integrated systems analysis and the significance of the influence stemming from the applicability of the NDT and the physical parameters of the test structures in the selection and utilization of adequate NDT techniques. The book is intended for students who are interested in the NDT of fiber-reinforced composite structures, researchers investigating the applicability of different NDT techniques to the inspections of structural systems, and NDT researchers and engineers working on the optimization of NDT systems for specific applications involving the use of fiber-reinforced composite structures.