Lamb-wave Based Technique for Multi-site Damage Detection

The propagation characteristic of Lamb waves activated by Piezoelectric actuators and collected by sensors in a stiffened panel has been investigated. A network of actuators is used to scan the structure before and after the presence of damage. A diagnostic imaging algorithm has been developed based on the probability of damage at each point of the structure measured by the signal reading of sensors in the baseline and damaged structure. A damage localization image is then reconstructed by superimposing the image obtained from each sensor-actuator path. Three-dimensional finite element model with a transducer network is modelled. Damage is introduced as a small softening area in the panel. Applying the imaging algorithm, the damage location was predicted with good accuracy. The validity of the algorithm was tested for multiple damages.