Multi-stage temperature compensation method for Lamb wave measurements

One of the important issues related to the applications of Lamb waves for structural health monitoring is their undesired sensitivity to variation of environmental conditions. Temperature is the main factor that can affect wave propagation and hence significantly reduce performance of a SHM system. Therefore, there is a need for development of robust monitoring methods with low sensitivity to temperature variations. This paper is aimed at verification of efficiency of four methods designed for damage detection using Lamb wave measurements performed in variable environmental conditions. The methods investigated in the comparison are the following: optimal baseline selection approach, the damage index based on a signal alignment with respect to instantaneous phase, and a group measurement approach capable of distinguishing local damage-related changes from temperature-induced global ones. The fourth method relies on fusion all these solutions simultaneously. The methods' ability to damage detection is compared using a specimen that is subjected to large temperature changes. It is found that although all the methods have their strengths and weaknesses, a cooperation of all solutions allows for significant increase of the damage detection efficiency.