PCA-based damage classification of delaminated smart composite structures using improved layerwise theory

•We proposed a PCA-based damage classification method for delaminated smart composite laminates.•The improved layerwise theory accurately modeled the delamination of smart composite laminates.•The direct system identification efficiently identified the system matrices from the transient sensor output.•The PCA provided excellent damage classification.•The damage location and severity were clearly identified. A Principal Component Analysis (PCA)-based damage classification method is proposed, to analyze delaminated smart composite structure. The delamination of smart composite laminates was modeled using the improved layerwise theory. The transient sensor signals obtained from the proposed model were analyzed by the system identification algorithm, to identify the system parameters for both healthy and delaminated structures. The identified system parameters were used to classify the damage categories, and to assess the damage severity, based on PCA results. The numerical results of cross-ply and angle ply composite laminates demonstrated that the proposed method resulted in excellent damage classification ability of delaminated smart composite structures.