Abstract
The non-dispersive fundamental shear horizontal (SH0) and torsional [T(0,1)] waves are extremely useful in guidedwave-based inspection techniques. However, excitation of SH0 and T(0,1) waves using piezoelectrics is always a challenge. In this work, firstly, a newly defined face-shear d24 PZT wafer is proposed to excite and receive SH0 wave mode. The d24 wafer is in-plane poled and its working electric field is applied along another orthogonal in-plane direction. Both finite element simulations and experiments show that single SH0 mode can be excited by using the d24 wafer along two orthogonal directions (0° and 90°). Then an omnidirectional SH0 wave piezoelectric transducer (OSHPT) is developed which consists of a circular array of twelve face-shear d24 trapezoidal PZT elements. Results show that the proposed OSH-PT exhibits good omnidirectional properties, no matter it is used as a SH0 wave transmitter or receiver. Finally, the development of a T(0,1) wave transducer for pipes based on a ring array of d24 PZT elements is described. Both finite element simulations and experiments show that the d24 elements ring can excite single T(0,1) mode and suppress all the unwanted non-axisymmetric modes. This work may greatly promote the applications of SH0 and T(0,1) waves in nondestructive testing (NDT) and structural health monitoring (SHM).
