Estimation of stresses in a plate with a concentrator through ultrasonic measurements of acoustic anisotropy

Introduction. Acoustic anisotropy is measured during ultrasonic nondestructive testing. It estimates the magnitude of stresses by the acoustoelasticity method. The literature describes in detail the application of this approach in the case of a biaxial strength of extended structures: main pipelines, rail strings, steam generators, and others. They assume the presence of a uniform field with zero or weak gradients of stresses and deformations. However, the problem of timely detection and assessment of critical stresses caused by local concentrators through ultrasonic testing has not been solved. The presented material is intended to fill this gap. The work is aimed at determining the possibilities of the acoustoelasticity method to estimate the difference in the main biaxial stresses around the concentrator - a circular cutout in a rectangular plate.