Lattice modeling of ultrasonic nondestructive evaluation of attenuating materials

Theoretical predictions of specific strength and specific stiffness of nanocomposites make them attractive replacements for alloys and fiber reinforced composites in future generations of numerous structures. The reliable and safe utilization of nanocomposites will require their periodic characterization with nondestructive evaluation. When subjected to ultrasonic waves, nanocomposites often exhibit attenuation that is an order of magnitude higher than that of carbon fiber reinforced polymeric composites. Thus, an accurate model of ultrasonic wave propagation in nanocomposites as well as several other modem composites must include attenuation. Lattice modeling is a heuristic approach that consists of the discretization of solids into regularly spaced particles interconnected via nearest-neighbor interactions. For example, the mass-spring-lattice model (MSLM), a lattice model for the simulation and visualization of elastic wave propagation, has been used in favor of other finite-difference and finite-element methods due to its straightforward implementation of boundary conditions and relatively inexpensive explicit numerical integration. Its utility notwithstanding, MSLM discretization produces documented, yet previously unresolved and uncharacterized, numerical errors.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2006

Author dc:creator

• Thomas, Anton F. (Anton Felipe), 1977-

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• James H. Williams, Jr.

• Mechanical Engineering.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/35628

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/35628