Frequency response function data of a composite plate under various damage identification scenarios

This article presents data collected in support of research on damage identification in a composite plate, using low-frequency vibration measurements. The data consist of the Frequency Response Functions (FRFs) of a square plate, measured using an impact hammer and accelerometers, as an alternative to ultrasonic measurements. The plate is instrumented with 7 accelerometers, and a dense grid of candidate damage locations is defined. First, a set of baseline FRFs is collected by measuring the responses to hammer excitations at all grid points. Then, 6 damage identification scenarios are considered, and for each scenario, a set of FRFs is collected by measuring the responses to hammer excitations at the 7 accelerometer locations. Added masses are glued to the plate to reproduce the scattering effect of damage. This provides a convenient academic example for a wide range of topics in the field of structural dynamics and serves as a first proof-of-concept exercise for damage identification research. In addition, it allows to validate different approaches and benchmark their performance, thereby contributing a reference test case to adequately compare methods against one another.