relation: http://d-scholarship-dev.library.pitt.edu/20788/
title: Optimal wave propagation-based nondestructive test design for quantitative damage characterization
creator: Zhanpeng, Hao
description: Nondestructive testing (NDT) has been widely used for damage identification and inverse characterization of material properties in several fields of science and engineering, from structural engineering to medicine. However, there are several common challenges inherent in the evaluation of structures and systems, including the potential for excessive computational expense and ill-posedness of the inverse problem. Numerical methods, such as the finite element method, provide substantial benefits in terms of solution capabilities, but the analysis for NDT applications in realistic structures often requires substantial computational time and power. Furthermore, limitations on the quantity and quality of measurement data can cause the evaluation problem to require even more computational effort and/or lead to solution non-uniqueness or nonexistence.    The present work introduces a general approach to optimal wave propagation-based NDT design for damage characterization applications. More specifically, the objective of this work is to improve the accuracy and efficiency of the damage characterization process by optimizing the parameters of the NDT such as the locations of sensors and actuators. The NDT design approach developed is based on maximizing the sensitivity of the NDT response measurements to changes in the material properties to be determined by the evaluation, while simultaneously minimizing the redundancy of response measurements. Two simulated case studies are presented to evaluate the performance of the optimal wave propagation-based NDT design approach. Both examples consisted of thin plate structures with a damage field that was represented by changes in the Young's modulus distribution throughout the structure. In order to provide practical relevance, the NDT method considered was based on commonly used ultrasonic testing with piezoelectric sensors and actuators. The optimal NDT designs corresponding to maximized sensitivity and minimized response redundancy are shown to provide substantially improved evaluation solution efficiency and accuracy for quantitative damage characterization in comparison to standard approaches.
date: 2014-06-16
type: University of Pittsburgh ETD
type: PeerReviewed
format: application/pdf
language: en
identifier: http://d-scholarship-dev.library.pitt.edu/20788/1/haoz_etd2014.pdf
identifier:   Zhanpeng, Hao  (2014) Optimal wave propagation-based nondestructive test design for quantitative damage characterization.  Master's Thesis, University of Pittsburgh.    (Unpublished)