Loose Bolt Detection by High Frequency Vibration Measurement with Non-Contact Laser Excitation

This paper proposes a vibration testing and health monitoring system based on an impulse response excited by a laser ablation. High power YAG pulse laser is used for producing an ideal impulse force on structural surface. It is possible to measure high frequency vibration responses in this system. A health monitoring system is constructed by this vibration testing system and a damage detecting algorithm. A microscopic damage of structures can be extracted by detecting fluctuations of high frequency vibration response with the present health monitoring system. In this study, loosening of bolt tightening torques is defined as the damage of the system. The damage is detected and identified by statistical evaluations of measured frequency response data with Recognition-Taguchi method. The effectiveness of the present approach is verified by experiment to detect and identify the loosening of bolts installed on an aluminum block structure.