Integration of Non-Destructive Evaluation-based Ultrasonic Simulation: A means for simulation in structural health monitoring

Abstract

Simulation has become a prerequisite in engineering and science today for visualization of ideas and concepts. In nondestructive evaluation, simulation is increasingly used to show how an inspection method functions with regard to the component to be inspected and is even used for determining the probability of detection of a respective flaw with regard to the inspection method applied. Probability of detection in non-destructive evaluation is optimized in a way that the best sensor positions, as well as sensor tracking paths, can be found through simulation. In classical non-destructive evaluation, a transducer or transducer array can be virtually moved over the surface of a component to be inspected until a full capture of the component's surface and hopefully volume is achieved in terms of the inspection process. However, with structural health monitoring, no movement of the transducers is possible in case those become an integral and hence fixed part of the component considered. Determining the optimum position of a respective structural health monitoring transducer network can therefore only be achieved through optimization procedures, where numerical simulation is possibly the only viable solution to get this done. Establishing a numerical simulation platform for structural health monitoring purposes has been the major objective of the recently completed INDEUS (Integration of Non-Destructive Evaluation-based Ultrasonic Simulation) project, which is described in this article. The open simulation platform includes different simulation tools, where the requirements and options for further extension of those tools and different test cases applied for validation so far are described. The target is to even simulate real complex structures such as applied in civil, aeronautical, and other engineering disciplines made of metallic and polymer-based monolithic and composite materials where the digital models are inherited from traditional computer-aided design and finite element-based designs. This lays the ground for determining the probability of damage for a given loading condition and structure, and the propagation of guided waves in the structure considered for an undamaged and a damage tolerant condition. From those simulation results, the determination of an optimum configuration of sensing transducers for a given set of actuating transducers is then shown for a guided wave-based structural health monitoring system solution to be designed allowing the tolerable damage to be detected reliably.

Optimization of tunnel grouting detection technology based on ultrasonic phased array

“…In this paper, the simulation uses Comsol to perform the simulation of an ultrasonic phased array to detect defects [15,16]. Figure 9 shows the constructed geometry.…”

“…Then, the filter is used to reduce the noise and reconstruct the component to achieve denoising. Finally, by combining the two optimization algorithms, the detection effect of ultrasonic phased arrays for tunnel grouting is numerically simulated [15,16] by setting different defects and analyzing echo patterns to validate the detection method and optimization algorithm.…”

AE in Polymeric Composites

“…The integration of piezoelectric sensors into FRP composites has recently been reviewed by [234]. As discussed by [235], simulation tools may become more and more useful for developing SHM with acoustic methods. There is scant literature on embedding signal pro-cessing units into FRP composite structures, one example is discussed by [236], but the majority of sensors embedded in FRP composite part or structures to date uses external signal processing units.…”

Ultrasonic guided waves through Coalesence of matrix cracks and delaminations in laminated composites

“…Distributed and near field emission detection is possible more effectively with the piezo wafer transducer patches integrated with the structures [19][20][21] However, integrating such sensors must employ damage tolerance design information for the structure and a probabilistic approach to localize defects. 22 Monitoring matrix crack and its evolution to delamination in more cost-effective manner is possible under the active inspection mythologies using guided wave propagation. 23 Ultrasonic wave propagations in composite has its own limitations due to attenuations.…”