Frustrated total internal reflection of ultrasonic waves at a fluid-coupled elastic plate

TL;DR

This paper provides a comprehensive theoretical and experimental analysis of frustrated total internal reflection (FTIR) of ultrasonic waves in fluid-coupled elastic plates, revealing the underlying physics and key factors influencing transmission.

Contribution

It introduces and validates two theoretical models for studying ultrasonic FTIR in fluid-coupled plates, highlighting the role of evanescent waves and antisymmetric modes in the phenomenon.

Findings

Evanescent waves cause continuous transmission regardless of plate thickness.

Excitation of the A0 mode enables FTIR even in thicker plates.

The potentials-based approach accurately predicts experimental results.

Abstract

A complete treatment regarding frustrated total internal reflection (FTIR) of ultrasonic waves is presented and validated against experiments, providing a theoretical explanation for the physics behind this phenomenon. Two different approaches are used to develop a theoretical model capable of studying transmission in fluid-coupled elastic plates. One is the multiple reflections approach (analogous to the study of FTIR in electromagnetic/optical waves), which is shown to have limited applicability for incident angles beyond the first critical angle. This prompted us to address the problem using the second, potentials-based approach, which is established and validated against experimental data with correct predictions for a thin air-coupled steel sheet. A relation between the transmitted power and the dispersion curves for guided waves in the plate is established, highlighting the two fundamental causes of FTIR in such systems. First, a thin plate, when compared to the wavelength of the wave incident on it, will always be subjected to the effects of FTIR. This is because the evanescent wave created inside the plate will never assume negligible values, thus always allowing transmission to the other side. Second, and more surprisingly, the excitation of the fundamental antisymmetric mode $A_0$ of the plate is shown to be a direct enabler of FTIR, even for thicker plates.