Detection of damage in metallic materials using Laser Doppler Vibrometry

In recent years, the damage assessment by means of Laser Doppler Vibrometry (LDV) has become very attractive as it provides non-contact, non-destructive, accurate and improved evaluation of advanced materials. This study deals with the development of advanced software based on LabVIEW in order accurate and automated measurements of acoustic activity to be achieved. Furthermore, this automated method was applied for damage detection in aluminum 1050 H16 undergone cyclic mechanical loading. LDV was used to measure the amplitude of a Rayleigh surface wave propagating in aluminium specimens. Rayleigh waves are experimentally generated with a piezoelectric transducer and detected by LDV. The proposed measurement technique is used to assess the damage and its evolution, in terms of the increasing amplitude of Rayleigh wave, in 1050 H16 specimens under cyclic mechanical loading. In addition, the reduction in the Rayleigh wave velocity it depends on ultimate fatigue strength of material. The development of this process allows the automated, improved and detailed damage assessment of composite materials.