Lamb wave reflection at the free edge of a plate

This study concentrates on the reflection of Lamb waves at the free end of a plate. The conversion phenomena are examined in detail over a large frequency range and the energy conversion coefficients are obtained by three different ways: theoretically, numerically (finite element method) and experimentally. The experimental energy determination is obtained from the measurement of the plate normal displacements, by mean of a laser interferometer. All results are in relatively good agreement and the energy balance between incident and reflected waves is discussed in each case. (C) 2003 Acoustical Society of America.