Comparative Study of Instantaneous Frequency Extraction in Nonlinear Acoustics Used for Structural Damage Detection

Abstract

Nonlinear acoustics deals with various nonlinear effects that occur in ultrasonic wave propagation. The method is suitable for material characterisation, as it uses different nonlinear phenomena associated with material imperfections. The method has been used for detecting nonlinearities in cracked solids by: measuring distortions of acoustic signals, estimating resonance frequency shifts or assessing nonlinear vibro-acosutic modulations. The latter is the most widely used non-classical approach to probe material nonlinearities. The method involves vibro-acoustic interactions of ultrasonic wave and modal vibration in damaged specimens. Modulation intensity that strongly relates to damage severity - is usually assessed in the frequency domain and often leads to confusing results when large modulations are involved. The paper investigates the time domain analysis of vibro-acoustic modulated signals. Several methods for instantaneous frequency calculation used to assess the intensity of modulation - are compared. Simulated and experimental data are used in these investigations.