Guided wave-based detection of delamination and matrix cracking in composite laminates

Abstract

The aim of this article was a numerical and experimental study of the active damage detection methods based on piezoelectric elements attached to a composite laminate. In considered case, guided waves were excited and received in a structure using pulse-echo method. It means that after exciting a structure with a pulse, an array of sensors located on a structure was used to ‘listen' for reflected waves coming from discontinuities. The main part of structural health monitoring system is signal-processing algorithms, which allow to detect and localize damage. Algorithm applied in this research results in special maps that indicate damage location. In this article, a damage localization algorithm was described and experimentally tested. The proposed method was successfully tested on a carbon—epoxy part of a helicopter.