Nonlinear damage detection and localization using a time domain approach

This paper presents a damage detection and localization technique based on nonlinear elastic waves propagation in a damage composite laminate. The proposed method relies on the time of arrival estimation of the second harmonic nonlinear response obtained with second order phase symmetry analysis filtering and burst excitation. The Akaike Information Criterion approach was used to estimate the arrival times measured by six receiver transducers. Then, a combination of Newton's method and unconstrained optimization was employed to solve a system of nonlinear equations in order to obtain the material damage coordinates. To validate this methodology, experimental tests were carried out on a damaged composite plate. The results showed that the technique allows calculating the damage position with high accuracy (maximum error ∼5 mm).