Transmission of ultrasonic waves at oblique incidence to composite laminates with spring-type interlayer interfaces

The transmission characteristics of ultrasonic waves at oblique incidence to composite laminates are analyzed theoretically by the stiffness matrix method. The analysis takes into account the presence of thin resin-rich regions between adjacent plies as spring-type interfaces with normal and shear stiffnesses. The amplitude transmission coefficient of longitudinal wave through a unidirectional laminate immersed in water is shown to be significantly influenced by the frequency, the interlayer interfacial stiffnesses, and the incident angle. Using Floquet's theorem, the dispersion relation of the infinitely extended laminate structure is calculated and compared to the transmission coefficient of laminates of finite thickness. This reveals that the ranges of frequency and interfacial stiffnesses where the Floquet waves lie in the band-gaps agree well with those where the transmission coefficient of the finite layered structure is relatively small, indicating that the band-gaps appear even in the laminate with a finite number of plies. The amplitude transmission coefficient for an 11-ply carbon-epoxy unidirectional composite laminate is experimentally obtained for various frequencies and incident angles. The low-transmission zones observed in the experimental results, which are due to the critical angle of the quasi-longitudinal wave and the Bragg reflection, are shown to be favorably compared with the theory.