Influence of Composite Thickness on Ultrasonic Guided Wave Propagation for Damage Detection

• Published in: Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 22; no. 20; p. 7799
• Main Authors: Feng, Tianyi, Sharif Khodaei, Zahra, Aliabadi, M. H. Ferri
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 01.10.2022; MDPI
• Subjects: Aircraft; Bending stresses; Composite materials; Damage detection; damage detection and localisation; Damage localization; Group velocity; Impact damage; Impact strength; Influence; Inkjet printing; Lasers; lead zirconate titanate (PZT) transducers; Localization; Propagation; Structural Health Monitoring (SHM); thick composites; Thickness; thickness influence; Transducers; Wave propagation
• ISSN: 1424-8220; 1424-8220
• DOI: 10.3390/s22207799

In this paper, the propagation properties of ultrasonic guided waves (UGWs) in different-thickness composites (i.e., 2, 4 and 9 mm) were critically assessed, and their effectiveness for damage detections and localisations under varying temperatures was demonstrated. A diagnostic film with phased-array lead zirconate titanate (PZT) transducers based on the ink-jet printing technique was used in the experiments. Initially, the dispersion curves for these composites were compared. Next, the effects of the composite thickness on the A0 and S0 mode amplitudes and the group velocity were investigated by active sensing. Next, the behaviours of UGWs under varying temperatures in different-thickness plates were also investigated. Finally, surface-mounted artificial damage and impact damage were detected and located in different composites.