Damage Detection in Composite Structures using Lamb Wave Analysis and Time-Frequency Approach

A methodology based on Lamb wave analysis and time-frequency signal processing has been developed for damage detection and structural health monitoring of composite structures. Because the Lamb wave signals are complex in nature, robust signal processing techniques are required to extract damage features. In this paper, Lamb wave mode conversion is used to detect the damage in composite structures. Matching pursuit decomposition algorithm is used to represent each Lamb wave mode in the time-frequency domain. Results from numerical Lamb wave propagation simulations and experiments using orthotropic composite plate structures are presented. The capability of the proposed algorithm is demonstrated by detecting seeded delaminations in the composite plate samples. The advantages of the methodology include accurate time-frequency resolution, robustness to noise, high computational efficiency and ease of post-processing.