| Honeycomb sandwich structures have been widely used in marine and aerospace applications due to their high strength/stiffness-to-weight ratio. However, an excessive load or repeated loading in the core tends to induce debonding along the skin-core interface, threatening the integrity and safety of the whole structure. This dissertation focuses on development of guided wave strategies for health monitoring of honeycomb sandwich structures, based on a piezoelectric actuator/sensor network. The honeycomb sandwich panels, which are composed of aluminum alloy (T6061) skins and hexagonal-celled Nomex core, are specifically considered in the study.;First, elastic wave propagation mechanism in honeycomb sandwich structures is numerically and experimentally investigated, based on a piezoelectric actuator/sensor system. Influences of cell geometry parameters upon wave propagation are also discussed. Some wave propagation characteristics, such as wave group velocity dispersion relation and mode tuning capabilities, in the honeycomb composite panels are experimentally characterized.;Secondly, effects of skin-core debonding upon the leaky guided wave propagation in honeycomb sandwich structures are studied by the finite element simulation. An appropriate signal difference coefficient is defined to represent the differential features caused by debonding. By means of probability analysis of differential features of transmitted guided waves and the image fusion, the final image of the structure is constructed with improved detection precision. A multilevel sensor network strategy is proposed to detect multiple debondings in the honeycomb sandwich structure.;Thirdly, an analytical model considering coupled piezo-elastodynamics is developed to quantitatively describe dynamic load transfer between a surface-bonded piezoelectric wafer actuator and a prestressed plate. The finite element method is used to evaluate the accuracy of the analytical prediction. Effects of prestresses on the characteristics of guided wave generation and propagation, such as time-of-flight, amplitude and wave tuning properties of guided wave modes, are analyzed, based on the developed model.;Finally, to overcome the limitations of conventional guided wave methods, a baseline-free detection technique by using nonlinear acoustics is developed for debonding identification in honeycomb sandwich structures. The finite element analysis is performed to understand effects of the interaction of two debonded interfaces upon dynamic behavior of the sandwich structure. Specific experimental study is also conducted on the honeycomb sandwich panel to validate the concept.;This dissertation study aims to broaden the scope of existing guided wave methods for debonding detection in honeycomb sandwich structures, and provide some insights for health monitoring of in-service structures. |
