Dispersion of guided waves in composite laminates and sandwich panels

Christoph Schaal; Ajit Mal

doi:10.1117/12.2083870

23 March 2015 Dispersion of guided waves in composite laminates and sandwich panels

Christoph Schaal, Ajit Mal

Proceedings Volume 9438, Health Monitoring of Structural and Biological Systems 2015; 94380L (2015) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2083870
Event: SPIE Smart Structures and Materials + Nondestructive Evaluation and Health Monitoring, 2015, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

In composite structures, damages are often invisible from the surface and can grow to reach a critical size, potentially causing catastrophic failure of the entire structure. Thus safe operation of these structures requires careful monitoring of the initiation and growth of such defects. Ultrasonic methods using guided waves offer a reliable and cost-effective method for structural health monitoring in advanced structures. Guided waves allow for long monitoring ranges and are very sensitive to defects within their propagation path. In this work, the relevant properties of guided Lamb waves for damage detection in composite structures are investigated. An efficient numerical approach is used to determine their dispersion characteristics, and these results are compared to those from laboratory experiments. The experiments are based on a pitch-catch method, in which a pair of movable transducers is placed on one surface of the structure to induce and detect guided Lamb waves. The specific cases considered include an aluminum plate and an aluminum honeycomb sandwich panel with woven composite face sheets. In addition, a disbond of the interface between one of the face sheets and the honeycomb core of the sandwich panel is also considered, and the dispersion characteristics of the two resultant waveguides are determined. Good agreement between numerical and experimental dispersion results is found, and suggestions on the applicability of the pitch-catch system for structural health monitoring are made.

Citation Download Citation

Christoph Schaal and Ajit Mal "Dispersion of guided waves in composite laminates and sandwich panels", Proc. SPIE 9438, Health Monitoring of Structural and Biological Systems 2015, 94380L (23 March 2015); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2083870

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available