Damage detection based on the propagation of longitudinal guided wave in a bimetal composite pipe

This paper investigates the damage detection based on the propagation of guided wave in bimetal composite pipes, which can identify damage locations in both axial and circumferential directions. The feasibility of the method is showed by numerical simulations using FEM code ANSYS. Mode analysis is used to evaluate the guided wave mode and its structure, which can provide the basis of the mode selection in measurements scheme. The guided wave propagation in a damaged pipe is computed by transient analysis. 16 nodes around the pipe wall, as probes, are used to record the guided wave signal. When Pseudo Margenau—Hill distribution (PMHD) for each signal is carried out, three types of modes could be found, which are led mode, excited mode and lag mode in sequences. Based on the results, the arrival time of the excited mode could be used to locate damage in axial direction, and the energy distribution around the pipe of lag mode is consistent with the damage in circumferential direction. The simulation illustrated the possibility of detecting damage location in both axial and circumferential directions based on longitudinal ultrasonic guided waves only.