Damage Detection in an Aluminium Plate with an Active Constrained Layer Damping Treatment

This work was conducted as part of the European Union project ARTIMA and it investigates the potential for a dual use active constrained layer damping treatment for both vibration control and structural health monitoring. It examines a curved aluminium plate with an ACLD treatment formed by mounting a large piezoceramic patch with Araldite 2027. The plate was investigated by ultrasonic Lamb waves generated by the patch, and several smaller piezoceramic transducers were used as sensors. Damage was simulated by adding incrementally increasing saw cuts to the plate, and the technique of outlier analysis was used to classify when this damage had occurred.