Experimental verification of a translation model of linear transfer function of ultrasonic vibrations with nonlinear wave modulation for detection of contact-type failures

Contact-type failures, such as the crack closure at the tip of a fatigue crack, closed delamination of composite materials, and loosening of bolted joints, are difficult to detect through nondestructive inspections using linear ultrasonic waves or vibrations. When low-frequency vibrations, such as environmental disturbances, operating vibrations, and vibrations excited by actuators, are applied to a structure with contact-type failure, the contact condition of the failure surface fluctuates in synchronization with the low-frequency vibration. The amplitude and phase of ultrasonic waves or vibrations through contact-type failure with fluctuating contact conditions are modulated in synchronization with low-frequency vibrations, that is, realizing nonlinear wave modulation. Previous reports have presented evaluation and localization methods of contact-type failure using amplitude and phase demodulation signals. In this study, amplitude and phase demodulations were affected by the change in the viscous damping of a structure. Therefore, the essence of nonlinear wave modulation was considered to be the fluctuation of the natural frequencies. In this study, a visualization experiment of the fluctuation of natural frequencies caused by nonlinear wave modulation was conducted. The time-varying transfer function was reconstructed by measuring the amplitude and phase demodulation signals with the change in the excitation frequency. Moreover, the translation model of the transfer function of the ultrasonic vibration with nonlinear wave modulation was evaluated.