Study of the impact of truncations on wedge waves by using the laser ultrasound technique

This research focuses on measuring the impact of truncations on the dispersion characteristics of wedge waves propagating along the wedge tip by using the laser-generated ultrasound. First, the finite element method was used to simulate laser-induced wedge waves and the dispersion curves were obtained by using the 2D Fourier transformation method. Pulsed laser excitation and laser-based wedge wave detection were also utilized to investigate these characteristics experimentally. For the 20° and 60° line wedges, both experimental and numerical results indicated that a nonideal wedge tip had great impact on the wedge waves. The modes of the 20° line wedge with truncations presented anomalous dispersion, low mode closed to high mode in high frequency, and the characteristics of antisymmetric Lamb waves as truncation increased. Meanwhile, the modes of the 60° line wedge with truncations showed the characteristics of antisymmetric Lamb waves, and the A₁ mode was also observed clearly. The findings of this study can be used to evaluate and detect wedge structure.