Impact damage detection in smart composites using nonlinear acoustics - Cointegration analysis for removal of undesired load effect

The paper presents a reliable methodology - based on nonlinear acoustics - for impact damage detection in composite materials. The nonlinear vibro-acoustic wave modulation technique is used to detect damage. The problem of operational variability of the method with respect to the selection of frequency and amplitude of low-frequency (LF) modal excitation is investigated. This problem is addressed using the concept of stationarity of time series of vibro-acoustic data. Cointegration analysis is employed to compensate for the effect of variable operational conditions associated with LF modal (or vibration) excitation in nonlinear vibro-acoustic wave modulations. Analysis of stationary statistical characteristics of vibro-acoustic responses - after cointegration analysis - are used for damage detection. The proposed method is validated using vibro-acoustic data from laminated composite plates and composite sandwich panels. The results demonstrate that the proposed approach can effectively compensate for the effect of LF modal excitation on nonlinear vibro-acoustic wave modulations and detect the damage more accurately and robustly than the existing nonlinear acoustics based on the analysis of modulation sidebands.