Internal damage localization for large-scale hollow cylinders based on helical sensor network

Abstract

The hollow cylinder with a large diameter is the typical shell structure in major engineering applications such as aviation, aerospace, ocean, and so on. Unlike the geometric properties of transportation pipe, the shell structure has a large size and short length. It is relatively difficult to detect damage globally. According to the abovementioned characteristics, a damage localization method based on helical sensor network is proposed in the current research work to locate the internal damage in large-scale hollow cylinder in which the sensors are arranged on the outer surface of the structure. The wavefront theory about flexural modes is fully explored to determine helical sensor network which is suitable for the full frequency spectrum and avoids the approximate estimation to the wave in plate. The flexible sensing paths and single mode excitation in helical sensor network also provide more possibilities for the damage localization in hollow cylinder. The verification method of circumferential orders based on the Fourier transform is developed by the normal mode expansion approach. To apply the helical sensor network of flexural mode in damage localization, the effective loading length of flexural modes is investigated using simulation. And the simulation and experiment both are conducted to locate the internal damage in hollow cylinders and verify the credibility of proposed localization method. The scale parameter and sensing path number are further investigated to determine the effect on location accuracy.