POD based algorithm for damage detection in composites Submitted to Mechanical Systems and Signal Processing Proper Orthogonal Decomposition Based Algorithm for Detecting Damage Location and Severity in Composite Plates

A damage detection algorithm based on the proper orthogonal decomposition technique is presented for health monitoring of structures. The proper orthogonal modes are employed as dynamical invariants to filter out the influence of operational/environmental variations on the dynamic response of the structure. Finite element model of a carbon/epoxy composite plate is used to generate vibration data for healthy and damaged structures. Varying levels of stiffness reduction for the elements in the damaged zone of the structure simulate impact damage. Three damage locations (center of plate, fixed end, and free end) with three damage cases for each location are investigated. Different random excitation inputs are used to introduce variations in the loading conditions of the plate. The results show that the developed algorithm is capable of detecting both location and severity of damages even under changing loading conditions and with a high level of confidence.