Interdigital lamb wave transducers for applications in structural health monitoring

Interdigital transducers (IDTs), thanks to their multiple capabilities have the potential of increasing versatility of SHM systems. Migration of the IDT technology in SHM systems and devices is reviewed in this paper. A summary review of different types of IDTs is presented and their salient features are presented in terms of their applicability in the Lamb wave based SHM systems. Comprehensive review is provided concerning the implementation of the IDT capabilities towards the development of SHM systems. Experimental results obtained with prototype IDTs are provided for illustration. Finally, future development directions of the IDTs dedicated to SHM systems are outlined.