Lamb wave-based monitoring of shear failure of an adhesive lap joint

Abstract

The paper presents a study on the elastic wave propagation in adhesive joints of steel plates subjected to tensile loading. A single lap joint was chosen for analysis because of its simplicity and plurality of applications. Experimental investigations consisted of the uniaxial extension of prepared specimens. Force and displacement values were recorded by a testing machine. Simultaneously, guided Lamb waves were excited and signals of their propagation were collected in a number of points by piezoelectric transducers attached to the specimen surface. Further processing of signals allowed to determine some disturbances in gathered data. The continuous wavelet transform revealed discontinuities in force-displacement relations. The Fourier transform showed changes in frequency values of recorded signals. Large disturbances of the root mean square values were also observed. The results of all analyses allowed to conclude that the identification of partial degradation state before the sample destruction was possible.