Flaw detection in sandwich plates based on time-harmonic response using genetic algorithm

An inverse identification technique is proposed to assess the presence, location, size and degree of flaw in the core layer of sandwich plates. The time-harmonic response of the sandwich plates is used as the input for inverse analysis. The responses of the plates in forward analysis are predicted using finite element method (FEM) based on Mindlin plate theory. The flaw is characterized by a set of parameters. The genetic algorithm (GA) is applied to search the parameters. To improve the efficiency of GA in searching for the true solution, a two-stage searching method is proposed. Numerical examples are given to illustrate the proposed technique. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.