A sensor charge output deviation method for delamination detection using isolated piezoelectric actuator and sensor patches

Delamination is one of the most prevalent failure mechanisms for laminated composites. To secure the safety of composite structures, it is required and necessary to develop cost-effective and efficient delamination detection techniques and methods. In this paper, a dynamic analytical model, namely sensor charge output deviation method is proposed to identify a delamination embedded in a cantilever laminated composite beam bonded with isolated piezoelectric actuator and sensor patches. Two pairs of collocated piezoelectric patches are bonded on top and bottom surfaces of the beam and used as actuators for exciting the composite beam. Another piezoelectric patch with gridding electrode pattern on its top surface is bonded on the top surface of the host beam and is employed as a sensor to record the required voltage and thus the sensor charge output along the beam. The effects of some major geometric parameters and the type of applied electric voltage on the sensor charge output distribution and delamination detection sensitivity are discussed in this paper. A comparison between the analytical models using isolated piezoelectric actuator and sensor patches and that using integrated piezoelectric sensor/actuator layer, which was developed previously, is conducted. For the baseline case considered here, there is an excellent agreement of the first three order frequencies between the present finite element analysis and analytical models.