Acoustic Waves in a Piezoelectric Plate Immersed in a Conductive Fluid

Abstract

Leaky Lamb Wave (LLW) has drawn interest from the research society for its application in the nondestructive evaluation of plate-like structures. Starting from isotropic plate[1] to plates with anisotropic materials such as fiberreinforced composites[2], the LLW problem increase complexity in a very fast manner. With the dielectric effect included in the LLW problem, a piezoelectric plate immersed in a dielectric fluid can be extended from the framework setup by the NDE LLW study. Among these studies, Nayfeh et. al.[3] investigated the influence of piezoelectricity on Lamb wave propagation. However only the mechanical effect of the fluid is treated in their study, leaving the dielectric effect with two extreme assumptions: either short-circuit or open-circuit condition. Later, Yang and Chimenti[4] modeled the piezoelectric LLW problem with fluid dielectric effect included and conducted extensive experiments[5]. The influence of the fluid conductivity on the wave propagation in a piezoelectric plate is the major interest in the current research. Theoretical modeling as well as experimental measurements are presented in this report.