Acoustic source localization in heterogeneous media.

Area of Science:

• Structural Health Monitoring
• Acoustics
• Materials Science

Background:

• Acoustic source localization (ASL) is crucial for structural analysis.
• Existing ASL methods are primarily developed for homogeneous media.
• There's a need for ASL techniques applicable to complex, heterogeneous structures.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a new ASL technique for heterogeneous layered structures.
• To enable source localization without prior knowledge of material properties.
• To address limitations of current ASL methods in non-homogeneous environments.

Main Methods:

• A novel ASL technique was developed for anisotropic plates and layered structures.
• The technique operates without requiring knowledge of individual layer properties.
• Numerical simulations and experimental validation were performed.

Main Results:

• The proposed ASL technique demonstrated effectiveness in heterogeneous layered media.
• Experimental verification was conducted on a single-interface specimen.
• Numerical results were obtained for two- and three-layered structures with varying interfaces.

Conclusions:

• The developed ASL method successfully localizes acoustic sources in unknown heterogeneous layered structures.
• This technique expands the applicability of ASL to more complex material compositions.
• The findings have implications for structural monitoring and diagnostics in diverse engineering applications.