Modeling of Transducer Fields in Weld Material: A Comparison of Three Generically Different Approaches

This contribution is aiming at the comparison of three computationallyefficient modeling codes: the Generalized Point Source Synthesis method (GPSS), a Gaussianbeam superposition technique and anexact Fourier integral formulation. While in the first two cases, transducer fields are obtainedby superposition of point source representations and Gaussian base functions,respectively,the latter technique is based on a plane wave spectral decomposition. Calculations have been performed for the field patterns of commercial standard transducers in ideally fiber-textured weld material. Excellent agreement has been obtained which especially confirms the exactness of the GPSS-method in view of bulk wave modeling. In a second step, the inspection of unidirectionally microstructured weldments through the isotropic base material has been addressed. The calculated sound field distributions inside the weldment again show good agreement