Modified time reversal imaging of a closed crack based on nonlinear scattering

A recent variant of time reversal imaging is used to detect and characterize a closed crack based on both the fundamental and the second harmonic components of the scattered waves in the presence of Contact Acoustic Nonlinearity at the crack interface. A Finite Element model, which includes unilateral contact with Coulomb friction to account for contact between the crack faces, is used to compute the scattered field resulting from the interaction between incident longitudinal plane waves and the crack. The knowledge of the scattering for multiple incident angles constitutes the input for the imaging algorithm. Good reconstruction of the crack is obtained from both harmonic sources, and second harmonic based images also enables one to identify the location of the second harmonic sources along the crack. This first imaging based on the second harmonic also offers potential baseline free detection of closed cracks.