Plate-like structure damage location identification based on Lamb wave baseline-free probability imaging method

Abstract

Damage-scattering signal extraction using conventional ultrasonic guided wave–based damage detection techniques requires the measurement of baseline data under pristine condition. This study proposes a baseline-free ultrasonic guided wave damage localization and imaging method based on Lamb wave baseline-free probability imaging method. Although traditional Lamb wave probability imaging can monitor damage location in plate-like structures, the absolute time of arrival and magnitude of the signal are affected by several factors and are therefore difficult to obtain. This study also proposes a probability-based hyperbola diagnostic imaging method that is based on different times of arrival and has no magnitude information. A distributed active sensor network conforming to a pulse-echo configuration and time window functions is developed to separate damage-scattering signals from structural response signals. Continuous wavelet transform is used to calculate the time of flight of damage signal waves. The numerical simulation and experiments validate the effectiveness of the proposed method in identifying damage.