Identification of delaminations in composite laminates

ABSTRACT: In this article, an identification technique for detecting delaminations in composite laminates is proposed, which uses the distributed piezoelectric actuators/sensors and the conception of transfer function. In this technique, the configuration of arrays of actuators/sensors is carefully designed to enhance the efficiency of the identification algorithm based on the transfer function. A beam example is employed to study the characteristics and effectiveness of the present identification approach, numerically. The experimental data are simulated from a FEM technique of higher-order plate theory for adaptive composite laminates, which is extended for delaminated laminates by implementing the displacement continuity conditions at the delamination front