Study on Nonlinear Lamb Wave Test for Invisible Impact Damage on CFRP Laminates

The impact damage imposed on carbon fiber–reinforced polymer (CFRP) materials used in aircraft fuselage may seriously affect flight safety. An ultrasonic testing method can be used to inspect for damage; however, in some cases of invisible or barely visible impact damage, linear ultrasound may not provide a clear indication of the underlying damage. Accordingly, a nonlinear Lamb wave technique was developed in this study to detect invisible impact damage (IID). First, a nonlinear Lamb wave testing platform was set, as well as damage areas with different impact energies. Second, the anisotropic propagation of Lamb waves was studied to determine the wave mode and the distribution of the transducers, and the linear parameters of the Lamb waves were determined. Last, three types of characteristic parameters of nonlinear Lamb waves were obtained for damage detection. As revealed from the results, the linear ultrasonic parameters of A0 mode Lamb waves can be applied to the detection of macro surface cracks, and the frequency shift, relative nonlinearity coefficient (RNC), and fluctuation coefficient of RNCs are highly sensitive to the detection of IID. Thus, a combination of nonlinear S0 Lamb waves and linear A0 Lamb waves can be used for IID and macro surface crack detection, respectively.