Nondestructive Evaluation of Anisotropy in Composite Materials Via Acoustic Birefringence

Abstract A linearly polarized ultrasonic shear wave propagating in fiber-reinforced composites produces an elliptical vibration pattern due to birefringence. The acoustic birefringence of shear waves is analyzed and applied for evaluation of in-plane stiffness anisotropy of uni-axial nonfabric, biaxial, and quadra-axial fabric composite materials. The parameters of the elliptical motion are determined by measurements of the amplitude and phase of the transmitted/reflected shear wave as functions of the receiver polarization angle. The strength of birefringence is derived from the measured elliptical pattern and used to quantify the in-plane stiffness asymmetry in glass and carbon fiber-reinforced nonfabric and fabric composites. The technique is shown to be sensitive enough to detect damage induced variation in stiffness anisotropy. The correlation between the asymmetry of shear stiffness and orientation of impact cracking in composites is also discussed. Keywords: acoustic birefringenceelastic anistropynondestructive testing This article is part of the following collections: Research in Nondestructive Evaluation Outstanding Paper Award ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The authors are grateful to the German Research Foundation (DFG) for supporting this work, as part of the projects Bu 624/26-1 and SPP 1123.