Finite element modelling of elastic wave scattering within a polycrystalline material in two and three dimensions

Anton Van Pamel, Colin R. Brett, Peter Huthwaite, Michael J. S. Lowe
2015 Journal of the Acoustical Society of America  
Finite Element modelling is a promising tool for further progressing the 1 development of ultrasonic NDE of polycrystalline materials. Yet its widespread adoption has 2 been held back due to a high computational cost, which has restricted current works to 3 relatively small models and to two dimensions. However, the emergence of sufficiently 4 powerful computing, such as highly efficient solutions on graphics processors is enabling a 5 step improvement in possibilities. This article aims to
more » ... ise those capabilities, to simulate 6 ultrasonic scattering of longitudinal waves in an equiaxed polycrystalline material in both 2D 7 and 3D. The modelling relies on an established Voronoi approach to randomly generate a 8 representative grain morphology. It is shown that both 2D and 3D numerical data show good 9 agreement across a range of scattering regimes in comparison to well-established theoretical 10 predictions for attenuation and phase velocity. In addition, 2D parametric studies illustrate the 11 mesh sampling requirements for two different types of mesh, to ensure modelling accuracy and 12 present useful guidelines for future works. Modelling limitations are also shown. It is found 13 that 2D models reduce the scattering mechanism in the Rayleigh regime. 14 Pacs: 43.35Cg 15 Wave scattering in a polycrystalline material 3 /38
doi:10.1121/1.4931445 pmid:26520313 fatcat:utawdob7fjdrriidzjst3vpt5e