Nondestructive evaluation of explosively welded clad rods by resonance acoustic spectroscopy

A resonance acoustic spectroscopy technique is assessed for nondestructive evaluation of explosively welded clad rods. Each rod is modeled as a two-layered cylinder with a spring-mass system to represent a thin interfacial layer containing the weld. A range of interfacial profiles is generated in a set of experimental samples by varying the speed of the explosion that drives the copper cladding into the aluminum core. Excellent agreement is achieved between measured and calculated values of the resonant frequencies of the system, through appropriate adjustment of the interfacial mass and spring constants used in the wave scattering calculations. Destructive analysis of the interface in the experimental specimens confirms that key features of the interfacial profile may be inferred from resonance acoustic spectroscopy analysis applied to ultrasonic measurements.