Estimation of interface damage of fiber-reinforced composites

The estimation of interface damage of fiber-reinforced composites based on the propagation constants of coherent waves is studied in this paper. First, the relation between the interface damage and the propagation constants is investigated by using the theory of multiple scattering. Next, single and multiple scatterings in the composites in the case of incident P, SV, and SH waves are considered. The propagation constants of coherent waves are computed numerically, and the influence of interface damage on them is discussed. Then, based on the relation between the propagation constants and the interface damage, an inverse method to estimate the interface damage is proposed. Finally, a numerical example is given. The numerical results are obtained by using synthetic experimental data and the genetic algorithm. It is shown by the numerical example that the interface damage can be approximately estimated from the wave propagation constants measured with various degrees of accuracy.