The purpose of the present contribution is to propose and analyze a realistic model for an interface joining together two slabs of homogeneous materials. While usually only the perfect contact case is considered, we plan to model here several cases of imperfect contact, with a choice of parameters defining the quality of the bonding and mechanisms for the transmission and reflection of ultrasonic waves through the adhesive. For our work we will extend to the present situation (imperfect contact) a previously established technique for the simulation of the ultrasonic wave propagation in arbitrary complex media. This numerical method, called LISA (local interaction simulation approach) ([1], [2]) has been found to be particularly suitable in connection with parallel processing. The results of the analytical work and computer simulations will be compared with the available experimental data. REFERENCES

1. P. P. Delsanto, H. H. Chaskelis, R. B. Mignogna and R. S. Schechter, "Real-Time Parallel Computation and Visualization of Ultrasonic Pulses in Solids", Science 265, 1188 (1992)
2. P. P. Delsanto et al., "Connection machine simulation of ultrasonic wave propagation in materials. II: The Two- dimensional case", Wave Motion 20, 295 (1994)