Noncontacting Resonant Ultrasound Spectroscopy for Nondestructive Evaluation

An important nondestructive evaluation (NDE) measurement technique is to record the vibration-mode spectrum of a material part or structure, excited by a random or a driven source (i.e., acoustic coupling or shaker table). The vibration-mode spectrum fully describes the part dimensions and material properties, including defects. Application of this technique has spawned a new NDE method known as resonant ultrasound spectroscopy (RUS) that has been found useful for characterizing components and structures of many diverse shapes and sizes.