Predictive Methodologies for the Design of Lamb-Wave Piezoelectric Wafer Active Sensors for Structural Health Monitoring, Damage Detection, and Failure Prevention

The piezoelectric wafer active sensors (PWAS) are low-power non-resonant devices with broadband capabilities. They interrogate the structure through guided Lamb waves. PWAS capabilities for Lamb-wave damage detection have been validated experimentally, but the modeling of the in-situ PWAS behavior is still incomplete. This paper addresses fundamental aspects of the Lamb-wave interaction between the PWAS transducers and the host structure. The goal of our research is to develop predictive methodologies to be used in the optimum design of these active sensors. The objective is to develop an understanding of the interaction between the PWAS and the Lamb-wave modes, and how this affects the PWAS effectiveness. A set of predictive methodologies used in the design of active SHM systems have been resulted.