Numerical simulation of laser-generated ultrasonic waves for detection surface defect on a cylinder pipe

The non-destructive detection of cylindrical pipe defects is still open to research. In this letter, we report a study of the detection method for the surface defect in the cylindrical pipe by using the laser ultrasonic wave. In this study, the propagation characteristics of laser-generated ultrasonic waves in a cylindrical pipe have been analyzed by the finite element method. The simulation results indicated that the laser-generated surface wave and shear wave converted to surface wave can be used to detect the surface defect in the cylindrical pipe. The maximum negative peak of reflected surface waves due to surface defects increases as the depth of surface defects increases. The position of surface defects through B-scan images can be detected. The proposed method may provide a useful way to detect of the surface defect in the cylindrical pipe.