Finite Element Simulation of Lamb Wave with Piezoelectric Transducers for Composite Plate Damage Detection

Structural health monitoring (SHM) is an emerging research area with multiple applications. Lamb waves are ultrasonic elastic waves that travel inside and along thin plates and is frequently used as diagnostic tools to detect damage in plate-like structures. In this paper, a transient dynamic finite element simulation of Lamb wave with piezoelectric transducers for damage detection in a composite plate is carried out. The embedded cross-shaped piezoelectric active sensor arrays were used to generate and receive guided Lamb waves propagating in the plate structure. A full-scale FEM model for the laminate was created using three-dimensional eight-node layered structural solid element and piezoelectric active sensors were created using coupled field elements on the commercial finite element code ANSYS platform. The beam forming technique of Lamb waves is used to locate damage in the plate .The results of the numerical simulation demonstrate the effectiveness of the approach.