In-situ damage detection in plate structures using PWAS and non-contact Laser Doppler Velocimeter

The capability of embedded piezoelectric wafer active sensors (PWAS) to perform in-situ Nondestructive evaluation (NDE) for structural health monitoring (SHM) of fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) composite plate like structures is explored. The basic principles of Lamb wave transmission and reception with PWAS transducers were verified with simple laboratory experiments, performed on both isotropic and anisotropic plates. In the second case, Noncontact measurements for Lamb wave sensing using Laser Doppler Velocimeter were explored. © 2007 American Institute of Physics.