With research in structural health monitoring (SHM) moving towards increasingly complex structures for damage
interrogation, the placement of sensors is becoming a key issue in the performance of the damage detection
methodologies. For ultrasonic wave based approaches, this is especially important because of the sensitivity of the
travelling Lamb waves to material properties, geometry and boundary conditions that may obscure the presence of
damage if they are not taken into account during sensor placement. The framework proposed in this paper defines a
sensing region for a pair of piezoelectric transducers in a pitch-catch damage detection approach by taking into account
the material attenuation and probability of false alarm. Using information about the region interrogated by a sensoractuator
pair, a simulated annealing optimization framework was implemented in order to place sensors on complex
metallic geometries such that a selected minimum damage type and size could be detected with an acceptable probability
of false alarm anywhere on the structure. This approach was demonstrated on a lug joint to detect a crack and on a large
Naval SHM test bed and resulted in a placement of sensors that was able to interrogate all parts of the structure using the minimum number of transducers.
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.
This paper focuses on damage detection, localization and quantification in metallic plates using an array of sensors and
an advanced feature extraction algorithm. The Matching Pursuit Decomposition (MPD) algorithm is used for timefrequency
signal analysis. Using MPD, measured signals are decomposed into multiple wave modes. The individual wave modes are analyzed to determine the cause of signal changes and the location of the damage. An aluminum plate made of 6061 alloy was instrumented with piezoelectric transducers and used for testing and validation of the proposed concept.
This work focuses on fatigue crack detection, crack tip localization and quantification in plate like structures
using a reference-free method. In many practical applications the environmental conditions in which a structure
is operated do not remain same over time. Sensor signals, thus, collected for the damaged state cannot be
compared directly with the baseline because a change in the signal can be caused by several factors other than a
structural damage. Therefore, reference-free methods are needed for damage detection. Two methods have been
discussed in this paper, one with collocated sensors and the other using matching pursuit decomposition (MPD)
to detect waves undergoing mode conversion from fatigue crack tip. The time of flight (TOF) of these mode
converted waves along with their respective velocities are further used to localize the crack tip and ultimately find
the extent of crack. Both these approaches were used to detect fatigue cracks in aluminum plates made of 6061
alloy. These samples were instrumented with collocated piezoelectric sensors and tested under constant amplitude
fatigue loading. Crack tip localization was done from the TOF information extracted for mode converted waves
using MPD. The crack lengths obtained using this reference-free technique were validated with experimental crack lengths and were found to be in good agreement.
Recently, a reference-free damage detection technique that does not rely on baseline data has been proposed for plate-like
structures by the author's research group. If Lamb waves traveling along a thin plate encounter damage such as crack and
corrosion, mode conversions occur. Using the previously developed reference-free technique, it has been shown that the
mode conversion due to damage formation can be detected without using baseline data. In this study, the previous
technique is further advanced so that it can be applied to structures with complex geometries such as a stiffener and
thickness variations. First, the applicability of the proposed technique to a plate with a stiffener is tested. Due to the
stiffener in the wave path, mode conversion is produced even in the absence of damage. Next, the effect of the plate
thickness variation is investigated. When Lamb waves propagate along a symmetrically tapered section, mode
conversion can be also produced. However, due to symmetry of waveguide, converted modes cancel out each other and
no special treatment is necessary. On the other hand, non-symmetric thickness variation can cause the mode conversion
even in the absence of the defect. Since feature observed from the non-symmetrically tapered plate is the most complex
to analyze, this case is highlighted in this study. Furthermore, an instantaneous damage classification method has been
developed. Experimental studies as well as numerical simulations are executed to investigate the effectiveness of the
proposed technique.
A new guided wave based nondestructive testing (NDT) technique is developed to detect crack damage in metallic plates
commonly used in aircraft without using prior baseline data or a predetermined decision boundary. In conventional
guided wave based techniques, damage is often identified by comparing the "current" data obtained from a potentially
damaged condition of a structure with the "past" baseline data collected at the pristine condition of the structure.
However, it has been reported that this type of pattern comparison with the baseline data can lead to increased false
alarms due to its susceptibility to varying operational and environmental conditions of the structure. In order to tackle
this issue, a reference-free damage detection technique is previously developed using two pairs of collocated lead
zirconate titanate transducers (PZTs) placed on both sides of a plate. In this study, this reference-free technique is further
advanced so that the PZT transducers can be placed only on one side of the specimen. Crack formation creates Lamb
wave mode conversion due to a sudden change in the thickness of the structure. Then, the proposed technique instantly
detects the appearance of the crack by extracting this mode conversion from the measured Lamb waves. This study
suggests a reference-free statistical approach that enables damage classification using only the current data set.
Numerical and experimental results are presented to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed technique to
instantaneous crack detection.
A new methodology of guided wave based nondestructive testing (NDT) is developed to detect crack damage in a thin
metal structure without using prior baseline data or a predetermined decision boundary. In conventional guided wave
based techniques, damage is often identified by comparing the "current" data obtained from a potentially damaged
condition of a structure with the "past" baseline data collected at the pristine condition of the structure. However, it has
been reported that this type of pattern comparison with the baseline data can lead to increased false alarms due to its
susceptibility to varying operational and environmental conditions of the structure. To develop a more robust damage
diagnosis technique, a new concept of NDT is conceived so that cracks can be detected even when the system being
monitored is subjected to changing operational and environmental conditions. The proposed NDT technique utilizes the
polarization characteristics of the piezoelectric wafers attached on the both sides of the thin metal structure. Crack
formation creates Lamb wave mode conversion due to a sudden change in the thickness of the structure. Then, the
proposed technique instantly detects the appearance of the crack by extracting this mode conversion from the measured
Lamb waves, and the threshold value from damage classification is also obtained only from the current data set.
Numerical and experimental results are presented to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed technique to
instantaneous crack detection.
There is ongoing research at Carnegie Mellon University to develop a "baseline-free" nondestructive evaluation technique. The uniqueness of this baseline-free diagnosis lies in that certain types of damage can be identified without direct comparison of test signals with previously stored baseline signals. By relaxing dependency on the past baseline data, false positive indications of damage, which might take place due to varying operational and environmental conditions of in-service structures, can be minimized. This baseline-free diagnosis technique is developed based on the concept of a time reversal process (TRP). According to the TRP, an input signal at an original excitation location can be reconstructed if a response signal obtained from another point is emitted back to the original point after being reversed in a time domain. Damage diagnosis lies in the premise that the time reversibility breaks down when a certain type of defect such as nonlinear damage exists along the wave propagation path. Then, the defect can be sensed by examining a reconstructed signal after the TRP. In this paper, the feasibility of the proposed NDT technique is investigated using actual test data obtained from the Buffalo Creek Bridge in Pennsylvania.
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