A model for high frequency guided wave inspection of curved shells

Modeling work is reported in support of the development of an ultrasonic measurement to detect stress corrosion cracking in the shell of a nuclear waste storage tank, where transducer access is restricted to distances of several feet from the suspected flaw location. The measurement uses a 3.5 MHz 70 degree shear wave that propagates from the transducer to flaw site through a series of multiple reflections between the outer and inner walls of the shell. Results are shown which explain experimentally observed complexities in the received signals.