Numerical simulation on micro-damage detection in cfrp composites based on nonlinear ultrasonic guided waves

Abstract

Micro-damages such as pores, closed delamination/debonding and fiber/matrix cracks in carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP) are vital factors towards the performance of composite structures, which could collapse if defects are not detected in advance. Nonlinear ultrasonic technologies, especially ones involving guided waves, have drawn increasing attention for their better sensitivity to early damages than linear acoustic ones. The combination of nonlinear acoustics and guided waves technique can promisingly provide considerable accuracy and efficiency for damage assessment and materials characterization. Herein, numerical simulations in terms of finite element method are conducted to investigate the feasibility of micro-damage detection in multi-layered CFRP plates using the second harmonic generation (SHG) of asymmetric Lamb guided wave mode. Contact acoustic nonlinearity (CAN) is introduced into the constitutive model of micro-damages in composites, which leads to the distinct SHG compared with material nonlinearity. The results suggest that the generated second order harmonics due to CAN could be received and adopted for early damage evaluation without matching the phase of the primary waves.