Phased annular array transducers for omnidirectional guided wave mode control in isotropic plate like structures

Ultrasonic guided waves are fast emerging as a reliable tool for continuous structural health monitoring. Their multi-modal nature along with their long range propagation characteristics offer several possibilities for interrogating structures. Transducers commonly used to generate guided waves in structures excite multiple modes at any frequency; their complex scattering and reflection from defects and boundaries often complicates the extraction of useful information. Often it is desirable to control the guided wave modes propagating in a structure to take advantage of their unique properties for different applications. Earlier attempts at guided wave mode control involved developing fixed wavelength linear and annular array transducers. Their only disadvantage is that the transducer is limited to a particular wavelength and a change in wavelength necessitates a change in the transducer. In this paper, we propose the development of an annular array transducer that can generate mode controlled omnidirectional guided waves by independently controlling the amplitude and phase of the array elements. A simplified actuator model that approximates the transducer loading on the structure to a constant pressure load under the array elements is assumed and an optimization problem is set up to compute the excitation voltage and phase of the elements. A five element annular array transducer is designed utilizing 1-3 type piezocomposite materials. The theoretical computations are experimentally verified on an aluminum plate like structure by exciting A₀ and S₀ guided wave modes.