Sensor location studies for damage detection with Lamb waves

Lamb waves have great potential for structural damage detection in many engineering areas. However, the method requires some experience when complex structures are monitored. Deciding the optimal positions of transducers is one of the most important problems. Sensor location studies can be investigated using a number of signal processing techniques. This paper applies wave propagation modelling for the analysis of sensor positions in Lamb wave based damage detection. The problem is investigated using the local interaction simulation approach for Lamb wave propagation modelling in an aluminium plate with a rectangular damage slot and a fatigue crack. The study demonstrates that sensor location is important for clarity and physical understanding of propagating wave packages, good signal-to-noise ratio and reliable damage detection. All these elements can be investigated using numerical simulations.