Damage Identification in Composite Panels Using Guided Waves

A methodology for the identification of barely visible impact damage using guided waves on a typical aircraft composite structure is implemented. Delaminations and debondings have been introduced in two stiffened panels by means of impact loads. arious different impact locations were selected to assess the performance of the identification methods for different conditions. The two structures were interrogated beforehand and afterwards with an integrated piezo-electric wave active sensor network. On top of that, preliminary results from a door-surrounding structure, manufactured by the projectpartners, are analysed. A graphical user interface is developed to visualise the potentially damaged area(s). The interface allows, on top of detection, an assessment of the location and severity of the damage, without requiring in-depth knowledge of wave propagation theory. Hence, a fast, on-site assessment can be performed. The software also allows for a more detailed offline analysis. A series of damage indicator algorithms is implemented to assess the performance of these for various cases, revealing the most suitable parameters for the given structure and damage types. The visualisation software allows to focus on specific areas, enhancing the analysis of multiple damages in a structure. The results of the damage identification, in terms of size and location of the damage, are compared to the size and location as retrieved from C-scan images. The damage identification software tool is shown to be a powerful instrument in both the quick, on-site damage assessment and the understanding of the effects of various damage scenarios on the time response data. The output is a valuable input for (model assisted) probability of detection methods.