0000000000050098
AUTHOR
Francesco Lanza Di Scalea
showing 8 related works from this author
Global-Local model for guided wave scattering problems with application to defect characterization in built-up composite structures
2020
Abstract Predicting scattering of elastic guided waves in multi-layered solid plates with geometrical and/or material discontinuities is of great interest to many fields, including ultrasonic-based Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) and health monitoring of critical structural components (SHM). The problem is complicated by the multimode and dispersive behaviour of the guided waves. This paper describes a unified Global-Local (GL) approach that is computationally efficient in cases that can be very complex in terms of geometry and/or material properties. One example of this is a composite built-up structure. The proposed GL procedure discretizes the “local” region with the scattering discontinui…
Ultrasonic Guided Waves-Based Monitoring of Rail Head: Laboratory and Field Tests
2010
Recent train accidents have reaffirmed the need for developing a rail defect detection system more effective than that currently used. One of the most promising techniques in rail inspection is the use of ultrasonic guided waves and noncontact probes. A rail inspection prototype based on these concepts and devoted to the automatic damage detection of defects in rail head is the focus of this paper. The prototype includes an algorithm based on wavelet transform and outlier analysis. The discrete wavelet transform is utilized to denoise ultrasonic signals and to generate a set of relevant damage sensitive data. These data are combined into a damage index vector fed to an unsupervised learning…
The role of evanescent modes in Global-Local analysis of UGW in plates with varying local zone-scatterer relations
2023
In order to provide a reliable and robust SHM performance, Ultrasonic Guided Waves (UGWs) need to be analyzed and understood. Numerical modeling of UGW propagation and scattering by hybrid methods offers the possibility of simulating UGW interaction with waveguides of arbitrary cross-sections and discontinuities. Maximizing the accuracy of such methods is important to perform quantitative SHM, while maintaining minimum computational cost. This work investigates the role of evanescent modes in the numerical analysis of UGWs in aluminum and composite plates with defects, by the hybrid Global-Local method. The complex solutions to the UGW eigenvalue problem are found and the scattering spectra…
Guided Wave Techniques for Damage Detection in Composite Aerospace Structures
2018
Composite materials make up an increasing portion of today’s aerospace structures (see, e.g. Boeing 787 and Airbus 380). These aircrafts’ fuselage, for example, is composed of a laminated composite skin connected to composite stringers and C-frames. Of primary importance is the detection of damage in these built-up structures, whether caused by the manufacturing process or in service (e.g. impacts). A related issue is the characterization of the composite (visco)elastic mechanical properties, that can also be related to the quantification of potential damage. Guided elastic waves propagating in the ~100s kHz regime lend themselves to provide the necessary sensitivity to these two conditions…
Improved global-local model to predict guided-wave scattering patterns from discontinuities in complex parts
2019
Ultrasonic guided-wave testing can greatly benefit from (1) an ability to provide quantitative information on the damage that is being detected, and (2) an ability to select the best mode-frequency combination for maximum sensitivity to a given type of damage. Achieving these capabilities in complex structures (e.g. nonprismatic structures such as a stiffened panel in aerospace fuselages) is a nontrivial task. This paper will discuss an improved Global-Local (GL) method where the geometrical “local” discontinuity (e.g. the stiffener) is modelled by traditional FE discretization and the rest of the structure (“global” part) is modelled by Semi-Analytical Finite Element (SAFE) cross-sectional…
The Global-Local Approach for Damage Detection in Composite Structures and Rails
2021
Structural components with waveguide geometry can be probed using guided elastic waves. Analytical solutions are prohibitive in complex geometries, especially in presence of structural discontinuities or defects. The Global-Local (GL) approach provides the solution by splitting the waveguide in “local” and “global” regions. The “local” region contains the part of the structure responsible for the complex scattering of an incident wave. What happens in this region cannot be reproduced analytically. The “global” region is regular and sufficiently far from the scatterer, in order to exploit known analytical wave propagation solutions. The proposed GL approach discretizes the local region by re…
Global–local model for three-dimensional guided wave scattering with application to rail flaw detection
2021
This study presents a three-dimensional global–local formulation for the prediction of guided wave scattering from discontinuities (e.g. defects). The approach chosen utilizes the Semi-Analytical Finite Element method for the “global” portion of the waveguide, and a full Finite Element discretization for the “local” portion of the waveguide containing the discontinuity. The application of interest is the study of guided wave scattering from transverse head defects in rails. Theoretical scattering results are impossible to obtain in this case for a wide-frequency range. While three-dimensional Semi-Analytical Finite Element–Finite Element models for guided wave scattering studies have been …
Global-Local Modeling of Guided-wave Scattering for Quantitative NDE
2019
Among the several NDE and SHM techniques, ultrasonic guided waves are very suitable for the inspection of wide structures and complex geometries. Their behavior and interaction with geometrical or potential defective discontinuities needs to be understood to assist the experimental set-up of NDE tests and to interpret the collected data for quantitative damage detection and structural characterization. The Global- Local method is utilized here to investigate the guided-wave scattering in presence of very complex geometries, involving multi-layered materials and various types of defects. The standard Finite Element (FE) approach discretizes the region with discontinuities, while the Semi-Ana…