Active sensing of impact damage in composite sandwich panels by low frequency Lamb waves

Abstract The development of a robust non-destructive system to detect and monitor the extent of damage in carbon fibre reinforced plastics (CFRP) during service life is a key problem in many practical applications, especially in the aircraft industry. The lack of such technique has severely limited the potentially extensive use of composite materials. In this study a cost and time effective inspection strategy for in-service health monitoring of composites is demonstrated using the fundamental anti-symmetric A 0 Lamb mode at frequencies of 15-20kHz. In principle, this method involves analysis of the transmitted and/or reflected wave after interacting with the test-piece boundaries or discontinuities (defects). In the present work, the applicability of the technique to composite sandwich structures is explored and defects of critical size are successfully detected.