Quantitative evaluation of through-thickness rectangular notch in metal plates based on lamb waves

Lamb wave technology is a promising technology in the field of structural health monitoring and can be applied in the detection and monitoring of defects in plate structures. Based on the reconstruction algorithm for the probabilistic inspection of damage (RAPID), a Lamb-based detection and evaluation method of through-thickness rectangular notches in metal plates was proposed in this study. The influences of through-thickness rectangular notch length and the angle between sensing path and notch length direction on signals were further explored through simulations and experiments. Then a damage index calculation method which focuses on both phase and amplitude difference between detected signals and baseline signals was proposed. Based on the damage index difference between two vertically crossed sensing paths which pass through the notch in a sensor network, the notch direction identification method was proposed. In addition, the notch length was determined based on the damage index distribution along sensing paths. The experimental results showed that the image reconstructed with the proposed method could reflect the information for the evaluation of notches.