Integrated impedance and guided wave based damage detection

Recently, impedance and guided wave based damage detection techniques have been widely used for structural health monitoring (SHM) and Nondestructive testing (NDT) due to their sensitivity to small structural changes. Each of these techniques has its own technical merits, making them complementary to each other. For example, the guided wave technique typically has a larger sensing range than the impedance technique while the latter has better applicability to more complex structures. In this study, a new damage detection technique, which is named as integrated impedance and guided wave (IIG) based damage detection, is developed by utilizing impedance and guided wave signals simultaneously obtained from surface-mounted piezoelectric transducers (PZTs) to enhance the performance and reliability of damage diagnosis especially under varying temperature conditions. The proposed IIG technique first divides the measured impedance signal into two parts: passive impedance only sensitive to temperature variation and active impedance closely related to the mechanical property of the host structure. Then, the temperature effects on the active impedance and guided wave signals are minimized using the passive impedance. Finally, improved damage diagnosis is performed using both impedance and guided wave signals. The applicability of the proposed IIG technique to the detection of (1) bolt loosening in a steel lap joint, (2) a notch in an aluminum specimen with a complex geometry and (3) delamination in a composite wing mock-up specimen with stringers is experimentally investigated under varying temperatures.

► We develop a new IIG based damage detection algorithm.
► We develop an IIG measurement system.
► The temperature effects on damage diagnosis are minimized.
► Damage detectability for various damage types is enhanced.