Damage Detection in Metallic Plates Using Guided Electromagnetic Waves

摘要

Guided electromagnetic wave (GEMW) propagation using ultra-wideband signals is a novel approach for damage detection. Wave transmission and reflection can be used to warn the presence of such a defect within the waveguides. The present work proposes a feasibility analysis for a structural health monitoring system employing permanently integrated GEMW sensors. This setup allows to interrogate the structure continuously using multiple transmitters and multiple receivers when the electromagnetic waveguide is established. To this end, a metallic plate is equipped with a dielectric waveguide patch attached to the structures’ surface. To validate the detectability of damage, a reversible defect is modeled through removable bolts accessible from the other surface of the plate. The experiments are carried out considering different bottom holes at different spatial locations of the plate. The characteristic changes of GEMW signals are adopted in a damage index approach employed to show that defect can be detected sensitively.