Generation and Detection of Ultrasound by Laser Pulses and its Application for Materials Testing

Sandra Luxenburger
Fraunhofer Institute for Nondestructive Testing (IZFP)
Saarbrücken, Germany
Advisor:  Dr. W. Arnold

Date: Tuesday, October 9, 2001
Time: 3:30 p.m.
Place: W183 Nebraska Hall


This presentation will give an overview of the theoretical and experimental research work in the field of laser-based ultrasound which has been carried out at the "Fraunhofer Institute for Non-destructive Testing" in Saarbrücken, Germany, during the last five years. A theoretical model was developed, describing the generation of ultrasound in the ablation regime, allowing to determine the optimal parameters for a given problem. A laser-ultrasonic system for the inspection of the wall thickness of hot steel tubes in industry will be presented as well. The last part of the talk will describe the most recent research work which is the application of laser-based ultrasound to the study of fatigue damage.