Measurement of surface rectangular defect depth based on laser-excited transmitted surface waves

In order to study the effect of laser-excited surface waves on the transmission of surface rectangular defects, the transmission information of surface waves is used to achieve the quantitative calculation of defect depth. In this paper, the finite element method is employed to analyse the transmission process of laser-excited surface waves on rectangular defects. Subsequently, the influence of the front and back edges of rectangular defects on the transmission of surface waves is examined, and the formation mechanisms of feature points in the time-domain signals at detection points are elucidated. Ultimately, the calculation formula for defect depth is derived on the basis of the propagation path of each component after transmission. The experimental results are consistent with the simulation results, and the relative error of the surface rectangular defect depth calculation is within 9%. The validation of the proposed method on homogeneous isotropic metallic materials demonstrates the effectiveness and applicability of the proposed method. These results will provide a reliable method for characterising the depth of rectangular defects on surfaces by laser ultrasonic technology.