Statistics-based baseline-free approach for rapid inspection of delamination in composite structures using ultrasonic guided waves

Delamination in composite structures is characterized by a resonant cavity wherein a fraction of an ultrasonic guided wave may be trapped. Based on this wave trapping phenomenon, we propose a baseline-free statistical approach for the identification and localization of delamination using sparse sampling and density-based spatial clustering of applications with noise (DBSCAN) technique. The proposed technique can be deployed for rapid inspection with minimal human intervention. The Performance of the proposed technique in terms of its ability to determine the precise location of such defects is quantified through the probability of detection measurements. The robustness of the proposed technique is tested through extensive simulations consisting of different random locations of defects on flat plate structures with different sizes and orientation as well as different values of signal to noise ratio of the simulated data. The simulation results are also validated using experimental data and the results are found to be in good agreement.

Automated summary

In this study, a baseline-free statistical approach based on the resonant cavity phenomenon is proposed for the identification and localization of delamination in composite structures. The proposed method utilizes sparse sampling and density-based spatial clustering of applications with noise (DBSCAN) technique for rapid inspection with minimal human intervention. Simulation and experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed technique in determining the precise location of delamination defects.