Modelling of ultrasound transmission through a solid-liquid interface comprising a network of gas pockets

K. Paumel (1) , J. Moysan (2) , D. Chatain (3) , G. Corneloup (4) , F. Baqué (1)

1 STCP - Service de Technologie des Composants et des Procédés
2 O&I - Ondes et Imagerie
3 CINaM - Centre Interdisciplinaire de Nanoscience de Marseille
4 LCND - Laboratoire de Caractérisation Non Destructive [Aix en Provence]

Ultrasonic inspection of sodium-cooled fast reactor requires a good acoustic coupling between the transducer and the liquid sodium. Ultrasonic transmission through a solid surface in contact with liquid sodium can be complex due to the presence of microscopic gas pockets entrapped by the surface roughness. Experiments are run using substrates with controlled roughness consisting of a network of holes and a modeling approach is then developed. In this model, a gas pocket stiffness at a partially solid-liquid interface is defined. This stiffness is then used to calculate the transmission coefficient of ultrasound at the entire interface. The gas pocket stiffness has a static, as well as an inertial component, which depends on the ultrasonic frequency and the radiative mass.

Mots clés: sodium fast reactor; spring model; interface; ultrasounds; wetting; non destructive testing

Domaines: Science des matériaux [cond-mat.mtrl-sci]

K. Paumel, J. Moysan, D. Chatain, G. Corneloup, F. Baqué. Modelling of ultrasound transmission through a solid-liquid interface comprising a network of gas pockets. Journal of Applied Physics, 2011, 110 (4), pp.044910. ⟨10.1063/1.3611422⟩. ⟨hal-00624858⟩