Uniform circular array for structural health monitoring of composite structures

Phased array with all-azimuth angle coverage would be extremely useful in structural health monitoring (SHM) of planar structures. One method to achieve the 360 degrees coverage is to use uniform circular arrays (UCAs). In this paper we present the concept of UCA adapted for SHM applications. We start from a brief presentation of UCA beamformers based on the principle of phase mode excitation. UCA performance is illustrated by the results of beamformer simulations performed for the narrowband and wideband ultrasonic signals. Preliminary experimental results obtained with UCA used for the reception of ultrasonic signals propagating in an aluminum plate are also presented.