Ultrasonic resonance evaluation method for deep interfacial debonding defects of multilayer adhesive bonded materials

Multilayer adhesive bonded structures/materials (MABS) are widely used as structural components, especially in the field of aerospace. However, for MABS workpieces, the facts that the weak echo of the deep interfacial debonding defects (DB) caused by the large acoustic attenuation coefficient of each layer and this echo, which generally aliases with the excitation wave and the backwall echo of the surface layer, pose a great challenge for the conventional longitudinal wave ultrasonic nondestructive testing methods. In this work, an ultrasonic resonance evaluation method for deep interfacial DBs of MABS is proposed based on the ultrasonic resonance theory and the aliasing effect of ultrasonic waves in MABS. Theoretical and simulation analysis show that the optimal inspection frequency for II-interfacial DBs is 500 kHz when the shell thickness is 1.5 mm and the ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) thickness is 1.5 mm, and the optimal inspection frequency is 250 kHz when the shell thickness is 1.5 or 2.0 mm and the EPDM thickness is 2.0 mm. Verification experiments show that the presence of a DB in the II-interface causes a resonance effect, and in the same inspection configuration, the larger the defect size, the more pronounced this effect is. This resonance effect manifests itself as an increase in the amplitude and an increase in the vibration time of the A-scan signal as well as a pronounced change in the frequency of the received ultrasonic wave. In addition, the increase in the excitation voltage further highlights the ultrasonic resonance effect. Four imaging methods – the integrations of the signal and the signal envelope curve, the maximum amplitude of the fast Fourier transform (FFT) of the signal, and the signal energy – were used for C-scan imaging of ultrasonic resonance evaluation of MABS’s deep interfacial DBs and all these methods can clearly show the sizes and locations of the artificial defects and internal natural defect. The normalized C-scan imaging method proposed in this study can further highlight the weak changes in the signals in the C-scan image. The research results of this study have laid a solid theoretical and practical foundation for the ultrasonic resonance evaluation of MABS.