Local Area Damage Detection in Composite Structures Using Piezoelectric Transducers

TL;DR

This paper presents an automated structural health monitoring system using piezoelectric transducers for damage detection in composite structures, employing broadband excitation and transfer function analysis to identify local damages.

Contribution

It introduces an integrated approach combining piezoelectric transducers, broadband excitation, and transfer function analysis for effective damage detection in composite structures.

Findings

Successful detection of local damage in a rotorcraft composite flexbeam

Effective use of broadband excitation for structural health monitoring

Transfer function comparison enables damage localization

Abstract

An integrated and automated smart structures approach for structural health monitoring is presented, utilizing an array of piezoelectric transducers attached to or embedded within the structure for both actuation and sensing. The system actively interrogates the structure via broadband excitation of multiple actuators across a desired frequency range. The structure's vibration signature is then characterized by computing the transfer functions between each actuator/sensor pair, and compared to the baseline signature. Experimental results applying the system to local area damage detection in a MD Explorer rotorcraft composite flexbeam are presented.