Effective time-frequency characterization of Lamb wave dispersion in plate-like structures with non-reflecting boundaries

Research on Lamb wave-based damage identification in plate-like structures depends on precise knowledge of dispersive wave velocity. However, boundary reflections with the same frequency of interest and greater amplitude contaminate direct waves and thus compromise measurement of Lamb wave dispersion in different materials. In this study, non-reflecting boundaries were proposed in both numerical and experimental cases to facilitate time-frequency characterization of Lamb wave dispersion. First, the Lamb wave equations in isotropic and laminated materials were analytically solved. Second, the non-reflecting boundaries were used as a series of frames with gradually increased damping coefficients in finite element models to absorb waves at boundaries while avoiding wave reflections due to abrupt property changes of each frame. Third, damping clay was sealed at plate edges to reduce the boundary reflection in experimental test. Finally, the direct waves were subjected to the slant-stack and short-time Fourier transformations to calculate the dispersion curves of phase and group velocities, respectively. Both the numerical and experimental results suggest that the boundary reflections are effectively alleviated, and the dispersion curves generated by the time-frequency analysis are consistent with the analytical solutions, demonstrating that the combination of non-reflecting boundary and time-frequency analysis is a feasible and reliable scheme for characterizing Lamb wave dispersion in plate-like structures.