A Baseline and Vision of Ultrasonic Guided Wave Inspection Potential

Ultrasonic guided wave inspection is expanding rapidly to many different areas of manufacturing and in-service inspection. The purpose of this paper is to provide a vision of ultrasonic guided wave inspection potential as we move forward into the new millennium. An increased understanding of the basic physics and wave mechanics associated with guided wave inspection has led to an increase in practical nondestructive evaluation and inspection problems. Some fundamental concepts and a number of different applications that are currently being considered will be presented in the paper along with a brief description of the sensor and software technology that will make ultrasonic guided wave inspection commonplace in the next century.