Ultrasonic guided interface waves at a soft-stiff boundary.

Interface waves traveling along the boundary between two solids have been studied for nearly a century. However, little attention has been given to the case where interface waves travel at the boundary between a soft and stiff solid and when the soft material is relatively light and viscoelastic. In this paper, the characteristics of interface waves that propagate along a soft-stiff boundary are described. These waves are similar to a leaky Rayleigh-like wave on the stiff solid in terms of the wave velocity and displacement wave structure. Analytical and finite element models are used to model and simulate wave propagation. An example problem of bond evaluation for coatings on metal structures is considered. Experiments on 2.5 cm thick steel plate with 2.5 cm viscoelastic coatings show good agreement to models. Additionally, the results of models and experiments show several promising features that may be used to evaluate bonds in a non-destructive evaluation approach.