Interaction of a bounded ultrasonic beam with a thin inclusion inside a plate

A theoretical study of the reflection of a two-dimensional Gaussian ultrasonic beam, incident at a Lamb angle of a plate containing a thin rectangular inclusion at an arbitrary position, is presented on the basis radiation mode theory. The inclusion is parallel to the plate surface and its thickness is assumed to be much smaller than the ultrasonic wavelength. It is shown that the amplitude and phase of the reflected beam profile can be used for accurate inclusion characterization. However, this only holds for certain internal positions of the inclusion and for material combinations that do not strongly perturb the excitation of Lamb waves in the plate. When these conditions are satisfied, it is possible to define the Lamb waves and the associated experimental conditions for which good estimates can be obtained of the position of the beginning point of the inclusion as well as of the length and the thickness of the inclusion.