Partial energy transfer model of Lamb waves scattering in materially isotropic waveguides

Abstract

The scattering phenomena of the fundamental antisymmetric Lamb wave mode with a horizontal notch enabling the partial energy transfer (PET) option is addressed in this paper. The PET functionality for a given waveguide is realized using the material interface. The energy scattering coefficients are identified using two methods, namely, a hybrid approach, which utilizes the finite element method (FEM) and the general orthogonality relation, and the semi-analytical approach, which combines the modal expansion technique with the orthogonal property of Lamb waves. Using the stress and displacement continuity conditions on the present (sub)waveguide interfaces, one can explicitly derive the global scattering matrix, which allows detailed analysis of the scattering process across the considered interfaces. Both methods are then adopted on a simple representation of a surface breaking crack in the form of a vertical notch, of which a certain section enables not only the reflection of the incident energy, but also its nonzero transfer. The presented results show very good conformity between both utilized approaches, thus leading to further development of an alternative technique.