Detection of Low-velocity Impact Damage

in Composite Plates using Lamb Waves

K. Diamanti,1 J. M. Hodgkinson1 and C. Soutis2,*

1
Department of Aeronautics, Imperial College London, Prince Consort Road,
London SW7 2BY, United Kingdom
2
Aerospace Engineering, The University of Sheffield, Mappin Street,
Sheffield S1 3JD, United Kingdom

A first approach to a rapid and cost-effective health monitoring system for composite structures is
presented. Relatively small piezoceramic patches have been selected for the generation and reception
of the fundamental anti-symmetric Lamb mode, A0 . The patches were distributed in a linear array in
order for larger areas to be inspected. The propagation of Lamb waves was studied using Finite
Element analysis and the optimal number and spacing of the transmitters was determined. Impact
damage was successfully detected in multidirectional carbon fibre-reinforced plastic (CFRP) laminates
using a very simple experimental set-up.

Keywords non-destructive evaluation
Lamb wave
piezoceramic transducer
composites

low-velocity impact
delamination

1 Introduction A lot of effort has been put in to identify the

Composite materials are excellent candidates for
primary structural applications due to their high
specific strength and stiffness. However, their
macroscopic anisotropy and the fact that they
consist of different materials (fibres and matrix)
generally results in various types of damage with
different propagation characteristics. The most
commonly encountered type of damage is caused
by impact due to the low interlaminar strength
of composites. Significant degradation of the
mechanical properties can easily occur as a result
of low-velocity impact even for barely visible
damage. Different types of damage may be
encountered in the impacted region, including
matrix cracking, delaminations and broken fibres.
most reliable non-destructive technique (NDT) for
the detection, location and the characterization of
the size and type of damage in composite materi-
als. Thermography, shearography, radiography
and ultrasonics are the most commonly used
techniques [1,2]. In brief the mentioned techniques
require removal of individual components for
testing, employ bulky transducers, require point
scanning and in general are time consuming and
expensive. The cost of inspection of composite
structures is very high, at least one order of
magnitude greater than metallic parts [3]. In order
to realize the full potential of composites, it is
essential that they are maintained in a safe and
economical manner. Developing smart damage
detection methods that can rapidly and reliably

Copyright ß 2004 Sage Publications,

*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. Vol 3(1): 0033–41
E-mail: c.soutis@sheffield.ac.uk [1475-9217 (200403) 3:1;33–41 10.1177/1475921704041869]

33
34 Structural Health Monitoring 3(1)
detect critical flaws in composite structures still
remains a challenging task.
The evaluation of structural integrity using
Lamb waves has long been acknowledged as a
very promising technique [2,4,5]. Lamb waves
were first described by Horace Lamb [6] in 1916
for homogeneous isotropic material. They are two-
dimensional acoustic waves that can be generated
in relatively thin solid plates with free boundaries
and are also known as plate waves. They can be
divided into symmetric (Sn ) and anti-symmetric
(An ) modes according to their displacement pat-
tern. Lamb waves have the ability to test the whole
volume of the structure along the line between
the transmitter and receiver and can propagate over
considerable distances. Therefore, larger areas
can be inspected with a small number of transdu-
cers. However, their dispersive nature and the
existence of many modes simultaneously can com-
plicate the interpretation of the acquired signal. It
is therefore important to work below a cut-off
frequency, which is specific for each material, so
as to excite only the fundamental S0 and/or A0
Lamb modes [7,8] and if possible to excite a single
mode.
Numerous investigations have explored the
sensitivity of Lamb modes for the detection of
damage in composite laminates [8–11]. However,
less work has been done on the development of
real-time health monitoring systems exploiting the
capabilities of Lamb waves. Wilcox et al. [12]
proposed the inspection of large metallic plates
from a single position using transducer arrays
where each element acts as both transmitter and
receiver. Guided signals are generated at different
angles around the transducer positions and the
reflected signal from the boundaries is processed
for damage detection. This configuration is very
promising for isotropic material but might have
some limitations for fibrous composite structures
due to the change in properties with fibre direc-
tion. Dı́az Valdés and Soutis [13,14] have demon-
strated the possibility of using a linear array of
transducers for the detection of delaminations in
composite plates; further work needs to be done
in order to determine the capabilities and limita-
tions of this technique.
The aim of the present work is to develop
a system of smart devices that could be
permanently bonded to the surface of composite
structures and monitor the interaction of Lamb
waves with defects. The feasibility of using
an array of piezoelectric transmitters to generate
Lamb waves in composite plates is investigated
both experimentally and numerically. The test-
ing strategy is described first. Finite Element
analysis is performed in parallel and an attempt
to determine the optimum number and spacing
of transmitters is made. Finally experimental
verification is presented.
2 Damage Inspection Strategy
2.1 Description
The development of smart structures requires the
use of small and conformable transducers that
could continuously interrogate the structure either
being permanently affixed on the surface or
embedded in composite laminates causing mini-
mum disruption to their operation. Interdigital
transducers meet this requirement but their opera-
tion is limited to frequencies in the range of 0.5–
4 MHz [15,16]. Since this work will focus on lower
frequencies it was decided to use thin piezo-
ceramic patches that operate mainly in longi-
tudinal mode (d31 ). Operating as transmitters they
transform electrical into mechanical energy. When
an electrical field is applied in the direction
normal to their surface, surface strains are gener-
ated. Due to the coupling of the element to the
structure, forces and moments are induced in the
bonded area of the structure, generating elastic
waves. As receivers they transform mechanical
into electrical energy. When an elastic wave
propagates through the structure, the strains and
stresses induced generate a voltage on the piezo-
ceramic element. Their low weight and volume
makes them suitable for incorporation into smart
structures. These transducers have been success-
fully used to excite the A0 and S0 modes at low
frequencies in other studies [13,17,18].
The damage inspection strategy is shown in
Figure 1. In principle this method involves
simultaneous excitation of a linear array of
transmitters and analysis of the reflected wave
after interacting with the test-piece boundaries
 Diamanti et al. Detection of Damage in Composite Plates 35

damping transmitters/ reflection

material receivers generated from damage
NI analog-to-digital wavefront
card PCI-MIO-16E-1 B D F
CFRP plate
signal ch1
signal
reception ch2
conditioning
& processing signal damage 184
ch3 area
generation 32
4 ch4
y 36
z A 20 C E
x 488

Figure 1 Damage detection configuration of the composite plate excited by 4 transmitters; dimensions
in mm.

and discontinuities. The amplitude of the 2.2 Material

reflected signals is expected to reveal the critical-
Sixteen-ply quasi-isotropic ½þ45=0=  45=90 2S
ity of damage, while the time of flight (TOF)
carbon fibre-reinforced plastic (CFRP) laminates
between the excitation signal and the signal
were used in the current study. The specimens
reflected from the damaged region is used to
were manufactured using the T700/SE84HT
locate it.
carbon fibre epoxy resin system pre-preg tape
The A0 Lamb mode was selected because
supplied by SP Systems U.K. Ltd. They were cut
at the working frequency of 20 kHz it has much
into 488 mm by 184 mm plates. The thickness
lower phase velocity than the S0 mode and thus
of the cured plates was on average 2.3 mm. The
a smaller wavelength making it more sensitive
mechanical properties of the unidirectional lamina,
to damage. Discontinuities much smaller than
given by the manufacturer, are listed in Table 1.
the wavelength of the propagating wave cannot
The density was calculated by experimental mea-
be detected. The A0 mode was excited in the
surements of the weight and volume of the
frequency range used in this work with access
material. Firstly, specimens were cut into 16 mm
limited to only one surface of the structure,
by 30 mm rectangular pieces from the CFRP
which would be useful for many applications.
plates and were accurately weighed. Their volume
The relatively low frequency of 20 kHz was
was measured by a gas expansion method using
selected to reduce the cost of data acquisition
an AccuPyc 1330 pycnometer manufactured by
equipment since lower sampling frequencies
Micromeritics U.K. Ltd.
would be required to sample the waveform. Also
the attenuation is less and no amplifier was
needed to record the signals. Because the pulse
3 Finite Element Analysis of Lamb
has a finite duration, a range of frequencies is
Wave Propagation in Plates
excited rather than a single frequency and disper-
3.1 FE Model
sion distorts the shape of the pulse as different
frequency components travel at different veloci- For the Finite Element (FE) modeling of the
ties. A Hanning window was used throughout fundamental anti-symmetric Lamb mode a com-
the current experimental work to prevent the mercial package ABAQUS (version 5.8) was used
generation of unwanted modes. Higher number [19]. An explicit central difference scheme was
of cycles used in the excitation pulse would adopted to obtain the response of the structure.
produce stronger signals, however the propagat- A uniform mesh of square elements was used in
ing signal would span at a greater length reducing order to avoid any reflections occurring from
the resolution of the technique, thus a 5.5-cycle the differences in the mesh and permit similar
sinusoidal pulse was selected. wave propagation in both x and y in-plane
36 Structural Health Monitoring 3(1)
Table 1 Properties of unidirectional CFRP laminate.
Property (Units) Value
Longitudinal Young’s modulus, E11 (GPa) 131.1
Transverse Young’s modulus, E22 (GPa) 8.0
In-plane shear modulus, G12 (GPa) 4.23
Poisson ratio, 12 0.337
Density,  (kg/m3) 1560.6
directions. The mesh consisted of 4-node linear
shell elements S4R, having 6 degrees of freedom
at each node (3 translations and 3 rotations).
General shell elements can model in-plane, bend-
ing and transverse shear behavior.
The composite plate described previously was
modeled here. It was found sufficient to model
the laminate as a homogeneous orthotropic plate
giving the overall elastic properties determined
from classical laminate theory, assuming that the
transverse shear stiffness of the laminate is close
to the in-plane shear stiffness of the unidirec-
tional ply. The excitation signal was a 20 kHz
5.5-cycles sinusoidal pulse enclosed in a Hanning
window. At the frequency-thickness product of
46 kHz-mm the experimental phase velocity is
634 m/s and thus the wavelength is approximately
32 mm. The procedure used to measure experi-
mentally the phase and group velocities is
described in [14,20]. Square elements 4 mm by
4 mm were used, so that 8 nodes per wavelength
exist. The response of the transmitters was
modeled by imposing transient rotations around
the y-axis (
y ) on the nodes which represent their
edges that lie on AB and CD lines (Figure 1).
The transmitter dimensions were chosen to be
4 mm by 20 mm. Free boundary conditions were
employed to be in accordance with the experi-
mental set-up. Damage was introduced in the
FE model by reducing all the elastic properties of
a selected region by 50% (soft region).
3.2 Transmitter Spacing
In order to investigate large structures without
the need of scanning, transducer arrays can be
employed. The transducers could be permanently
affixed to critical areas of the structure or
embedded in a newly manufactured laminated
structure. The effect of the number and spacing
of transmitters for the excitation of the A0 Lamb
mode is investigated here with an attempt to
produce a uniform wavefield for damage detec-
tion. No damage was included for this part of
the analysis and the response was predicted prior
to the wave being reflected from the EF edge
(Figure 1). The acoustic field generated by 1, 2, 4
and 8 transmitters is depicted in Figure 2. The
maximum amplitude of the propagating transient
pulse (
y ) has been plotted at various cross
sections along the length of the plate. The values
of the amplitude have been normalized by the
peak amplitude of the excitation signal.
Firstly, the acoustic field generated by a
single transducer situated in the middle of AB
edge of the model is presented. It can be observed
that a divergent beam is generated, partly due
to the transmitter shape and partly due to the
low frequency. The acoustic field produced by
2 transducers 2 wavelengths apart and equally
spaced from the lateral edges of the plate is not
uniform and would not be adequate for damage
detection. By the use of 4 and 8 transmitters at
distances 1 and 0.5 wavelengths, respectively, a
fairly uniform wavefront is generated. The latter
increase in the number of transmitters does not
alter significantly the shape of the wavefront but
more energy is transmitted in the plate.
The generated field depends on the degree of
anisotropy of the composite plate. The pulse
generated travels in a circular manner away
from each transmitter and all the displacements
induced from each transmitter are superimposed
to form the propagating wave. Also the reflection
from the boundaries adds to the complexity of
the problem. However, the analysis showed that
when they are placed at a wavelength apart in
the quasi-isotropic plate examined here, a reason-
ably uniform wave is generated which, as will be
shown in the next section, can be used for
damage detection.
3.3 Damage Detection
Damage was introduced in the FE model by
reducing the elastic properties in a specified
region at the center of the plate by 50%. The
response from the different excitation configura-
tions was obtained. The time histories depicted
in Figure 3 are derived from the difference in
 Diamanti et al. Detection of Damage in Composite Plates 37

0.7 0.7
λ

Normalized Amplitude
λ

Normalized Amplitude
2λ 2λ
3λ 3λ
4λ 4λ
5λ 5λ

0.0 0.0
0 46 92 138 184 0 46 92 138 184
(a) Width (mm) (b) Width (mm)

0.7 0.7
λ

Normalized Amplitude
Normalized Amplitude

2λ
3λ
4λ
5λ
λ
2λ
3λ
4λ
5λ
0.0 0.0
0 46 92 138 184 0 46 92 138 184
(c) Width (mm) (d) Width (mm)

Figure 2 Predicted acoustic fields at various distances along the length for (a) 1 transmitter and
(b) 2, (c) 4, (d) 8 at distances 2, 1, 0.5 wavelengths apart respectively.

1.5 reflection 1.5 reflection

from edge EF from edge EF
Time (ms)
Time (ms)

1.0 1.0

0.5 0.5
excitation excitation
response response
0.0 0.0
0 46 92 138 184 (b) 0 46 92 138 184
(a) Width (mm) Width (mm)

1.5 1.5
reflection reflection
from edge EF from edge EF
Time (ms)

Time (ms)

1.0 reflection
1.0
reflection
from from
damage 0.5 damage
0.5
excitation excitation
0.0 response 0.0 response
0 46 92 138 184 0 46 92 138 184
(c) (d) Width (mm)
Width (mm)

Figure 3 Response of a damaged composite plate (20  20 mm2 soft region) excited by
(a) 1 transmitter and (b) 2, (c) 4, (d) 8 at distances 2, 1, 0.5 wavelengths apart respectively.
38 Structural Health Monitoring 3(1)
rotation
y between the nodes of lines AB and
CD (Figure 1) normalized by the peak amplitude
of the excitation signal. The first pulse is the
response immediately after excitation and the last
is the reflection from the edge EF of the plate.
It can be observed that as the pulse pro-
pagates along the length of the plate it spreads
because waves travel in a circular pattern away
from the transmitter. However, from the response
produced by 1 transmitter, Figure 3(a), it can be
seen that even if the whole plate is excited, the
presence of a 20  20 mm2 damage (soft region)
does not cause a measurable effect on the wave
propagation. In the response of the plate excited
by 2 transducers, Figure 3(b), equally spaced
from the side edges of the plate at a distance of
2 wavelengths between them there is still no clear
indication of damage.
When 4 transmitters, Figure 3(c), at 1 wave-
length apart are used the plate is adequately
excited and a separate reflection from the damage
is generated. The location along the x-axis can be
predicted by measuring the time that the damage
reflection is generated. The peaks of the indi-
vidual signals are shown with arrows in Figure
3(c). Damage in the FE model extends from
236 mm to 256 mm along the x axis and the
predicted location was 254 mm. However, the
extent of damage along the width of the plate
is overestimated as can be observed due to
reflection of the generated signal from the bound-
aries and the divergent waves generated from
each transmitter. By the use of 8 transmitters,
Figure 3(d), a stronger signal is reflected from the
damage site but the extent along the width of the
plate is still overestimated.
Since the wavefront is not completely uniform
the maximum amplitude being sensed at different
points varies. So damage sensitivity is different
for different positions in the region under inspec-
tion. However, no nulls were observed in the
acoustic field measured at different distances
from the source and when the damage location
was changed it was still possible to identify it
with 4 transmitters. Using a higher number of
transmitters increases the sensitivity but adds to
the weight of the structure. The number should be
limited to that needed to identify critical damage.
The plate configuration with 4 transmitters is
examined experimentally in the following section
and comparisons to FE results are made.
4 Experiments on Composite Plates
4.1 Description of the Experimental
Set-Up
A Pentium II personal computer and an analog-
to-digital PCI-MIO-16E-1 card together with
LabVIEW software by National Instruments U.K.
Ltd. were used to generate the excitation signal
to the transmitters and subsequently to acquire
and process the data from the receivers. The plate
was instrumented with 8 thin (approximately
0.2-mm thick) rectangular piezoceramic elements,
20 mm long and 4 mm wide, supplied by Maplin
Electronics U.K. Plc. Four of these elements were
used as transmitters and were mounted using
instant glue at one edge of the composite plate at
a wavelength apart (32 mm). They were connected
in parallel to one analog output channel of the
data acquisition card. The other four piezocera-
mic elements were used as receivers and fixed
next to each transmitter. These were connected
to four analog input channels of the same card.
The testing configuration is shown in Figure 1.
A 20 kHz 5.5-cycles sinusoidal pulse with
amplitude 10 V was used to drive the trans-
mitters simultaneously. A 250 kS/s sampling fre-
quency per channel was used to acquire the
signals from the four receivers. The data acquisi-
tion time was set so that the first reflection
from the far edge of the plate was captured.
A square sheet 10 mm by 10 mm of thin
Teflon film was inserted at the centre of the plate
between the first and second ply during the lay-
up fabrication process. It was not detected using
ultrasonic C-Scan. Therefore impact tests were
undertaken in order to initiate and increase the
damage in the composite plate. A hemispherical
impactor, 1.59 kg and 12.5 mm in diameter, was
dropped through guides from different heights.
Two steel jigs with an impact window diameter
100 mm were used to clamp the plates on the
machine frame. The damage area was measured
after each test using conventional ultrasonic
C-Scan testing.
 Diamanti et al. Detection of Damage in Composite Plates 39

4.2 Experimental Results monitored. In Figure 5, the amplitude of the

incident pulse, Ai and the reflections from the
A high aspect ratio of length to width of the
damage site, Ad and from the edge EF, Ar are
piezoceramic elements was used in order to favour
displayed. Also the time differences between excita-
the wave propagation along the length of the
tion and the damage reflection,
td and the reflec-
plate. However, waves are generated in both x
tion from the boundary, TOF are illustrated.
and y in-plane directions and reflections from the
Figure 5 shows the signal acquired from
lateral edges of the plate complicate the acquired
channel 4 for the pristine and damaged plate. The
signal. The signal acquired from each piezocera-
impact energy was 10 J and the generated damage
mic receiver is displayed in Figure 4(a). The
area was measured from the C-scan image
excitation signal and the reflection from EF edge
approximately 280 mm2. The location of damage
can be distinguished. Between these signals
was calculated based on the arrival time of the
significant ‘‘noise’’, generated by reflection from
reflection Ad . It was found to be 249.7 mm with
the edges AC and BD of the plate, was recorded.
an error of 2.3% of the actual position 244 mm.
As evident from Figure 4(b) the noise was
The criticality of damage can be measured from
successfully damped by the use of absorbing
Õ the increase in Ad or the decrease of Ar .
material (UHU White Tack) between the trans-
The reflection coefficient Ad =Ai is plotted for
mitters. Figure 1 illustrates the exact testing
the different receivers at several stages of impact
configuration with the alternating transmitting/
energy in Figure 6. On the same figure the
receiving and absorbing elements.
damage area measured from C-Scan images is
The composite plate was repeatedly impacted
plotted versus impact energy. The increase of the
with different energy levels at the center of the
reflection coefficient for higher impact energies
plate. The drop height of the impactor was
permits the estimation of the criticality of
increased for each test to produce impact energies
damage. It can be observed that impact energy
of 5, 8, 10, 12 and 15 J. At each stage
as small as 8 J produced measurable effects.
several parameters of the acquired signal were

30 20
ch1 ch1

0 0

-30 -20
30 20
ch2 ch2
Amplitude (mV)
Amplitude (mV)

0 0

-30 -20
30 20
ch3 ch3

0 0

-30 -20
30 20
ch4 ch4

0 0

-30 -20
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5
(a) Time (ms) (b) Time (ms)

Figure 4 Response of pristine composite plate (a) without and (b) with damping material between the
transmitters.
40 Structural Health Monitoring 3(1)

Ai
1 1
arrays and their interaction with defects in

Normalized Amplitude
composite laminates. Thin piezoelectric elements
Ar
that operate mainly in longitudinal mode were
Ad selected as transmitters/receivers in order to gen-
0 0
erate/monitor the A0 mode at low frequencies
(20 kHz). Operation at low frequencies reduces
∆t d the resolution of the inspection. On the other
-1 TOF -1 hand the low sampling frequency required to
0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 accurately monitor the signals reduces the cost of
Time (ms) data acquisition equipment. Also less attenuation
is present at low frequencies and thus there is
Figure 5 Signal acquired from channel 4 for the pristine no need for amplifiers reducing the cost of the
(dashed line) and damaged plate (solid line). Damage technique and the weight of the equipment if they
area is 280 mm2 introduced by a 10 J impact. are to be permanently hosted in the structure
(e.g. airplane).
0.20 800
ch 1 The use of a linear array of transmitters
Damage Area (mm )
ch 2 2 at one edge of relatively wide composite plates
0.15 ch 3 600
was simulated using a Finite Element analysis.
ch 4
Ad /Ai

0.10 Area 400 It was found that a distance of one wavelength

0.05
0.00
0 5
Impact Energy (J)
Figure 6 Reflection coefficient from the signal gener-
ated due to impact damage and damage area versus
impact energy.
The damage area produced by 8 J impact was
approximately 225 mm2.
As has already been mentioned, from the
finite element analysis, there is an overestimation
of damage width. Since all the channels captured
a signal reflected from the damage its position
along the width can not be estimated. Ideally,
for centrally located damage the reflected signal
should be captured only by the receivers placed
at the center of the AB edge, i.e. channels 2 and
3. However, due to the divergent beam of Lamb
waves generated by each transmitting element
and reflections from the boundaries, channels 1
and 2 also captured the reflected signal.
5 Discussion and Conclusions
The aim of the present work was to study the
generation of Lamb waves using transmitter
(here 32 mm) between the transmitters permitted
200 the generation of a fairly uniform wavefront.
Delaminations were modeled by reducing the elastic
0 properties of the laminate in a specified area (soft
10 15
region). Typical damage areas were inspected.
The location of damage in the x-axis (laminate
length) was successfully determined but the extent
of damage across the width was not accurately
predicted. In practice, a second array could be
used perpendicularly to the one described in
order to determine the exact location of the
damage site along the y-axis.
The experimental results on multidirectional
composite plates have demonstrated the applic-
ability of the method. It was observed that even
though the aspect ratio (length to the width) of
the transmitters was high and the longitudinal
mode dominant, significant wave propagation was
generated across the width of the plate producing
unwanted signals between the excitation and
reflection from the back edge of the plate. By the
use of alternating transmitting and absorbing
elements, suppression of the undesirable reflec-
tions was achieved. Critical defect sizes [8]
caused from low-velocity impact were successfully
identified.
A first approach to a possibly cost effective
inspection strategy for in-service health monitor-
ing of composites was demonstrated. It is widely
accepted that a combination of techniques is
 Diamanti et al. Detection of Damage in Composite Plates
needed to achieve a reliable and sensitive non-
destructive evaluation system. The low-frequency
Lamb wave technique described here could be
used in the first stage for global detection and
location of damage in combination with a more
sensitive technique, such as conventional ultraso-
nic C-Scan or radiography, that would accurately
characterize and size damage where necessary.
Moreover in order to test large structures more
efficient methods of data acquisition and proces-
sing will be required in order to keep the overall
cost of implementation of this technique low.
Currently finer meshes for the finite element
analysis are being investigated. Near future work
will involve more complex structures. Sandwich
and stiffened panels will be tested for skin–core
disbonds and stiffener–skin delaminations that
can significantly reduce flexural and torsional
stiffnesses of such composite structures.
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