Defect Detection and Imaging in Composite Structures Using Magnetostrictive Patch Transducers

The use of thin magnetostrictive patches to generate and detect guided waves within the composite samples is investigated for defect detection. This approach has been implemented using SH0 shear horizontal guided waves in both CFRP and GFRP plates. A magnetostrictive patch transducer was able to generate SH0 waves with known directional characteristics. The synthetic aperture focusing technique (SAFT) was then used to reconstruct images of defects using multiple transmission and detection locations. The results for imaging defects in both types of material are presented.