Numerical and experimental analysis of guided waves propagation in composite plates

Abstract

In this paper, we investigate the scattering behavior of defects in composite plates. Scattering coefficients are of great importance for the estimation of wave-damage interaction, for the interpretation of recorded Lamb wave signals, and for the development of novel signal processing strategies. The anisotropy of composite laminates makes modeling of wave propagation and the numerical estimation of scattering coefficients particularly challenging. The paper studies numerical models of wave propagation in composites, and evaluates their predictive ability. These evaluations rely of full wave field measurements on selected composite plate specimens, through which information on dispersion and directionality of propagation are conveniently extracted. In addition, filtering in the frequency-wavenumber domain allows the extraction of scattered wave fields and the estimation of the scattering coefficients. Comparisons between numerical and experimental data highlight modeling challenges, illustrate mesh-driven directional propagation, and suggest an effective strategy for the estimation of the scattering coefficients through tests and FE modeling.

Instantaneous and local wavenumber estimations for damage quantification in composites

“…The experimental setup is similar to the one used in Carrara and Ruzzene. 29 The scanned area is centered on the delamination region. The excitation is a 300-kHz four-cycle sine burst.…”

Instantaneous wavenumber estimation for damage quantification in layered plate structures

“…The experimental setup is similar to the one used in reference. 6 The excitation is a 100 kHz 4 cycles sine burst. The scanned area is centered on the delamination region.…”

Phase congruency for damage mapping in composites

“…In Plate #1, the delamination appeared as expected as a full circular delamination. In Plate #2, the effective delamination occurred over only the outer edge of the Teflon disk and was shaped more like a horseshoe [31]. This provided not only a thinner delamination sample, but also a more complex shape, with the interrogating wave passing over one section of delamination, over a bonded section, then back over a delamination section again and onto the pristine section of the plate.…”