Measurement 73 (2015) 520–538

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Measurement
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/measurement

Damage detection in structural element through propagating

waves using radially weighted and factored RMS
T. Jothi Saravanan, N. Gopalakrishnan ⇑, N. Prasad Rao
Academy of Scientific & Innovative Research (AcSIR), India
CSIR-Structural Engineering Research Centre, India

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The paper presents an explicit damage visualization methodology in an aluminum plate
Received 10 February 2015 through the application of wave propagation mechanics. The present work describes a
Received in revised form 15 May 2015 series of experiments and a special signal processing technique, for speedy spatial
Accepted 18 June 2015
visualization of damage in different sets of test specimens. Experiments on three
Available online 26 June 2015
aluminum specimens with lead zirconate titanate (PZT)-wave generator is described.
Damages are simulated in the form of (1) attached mass, (2) missing bolts and altered
Keywords:
boundary conditions and (3) drilled holes with different diameters, simulating both mass
Damage detection
SHM
and stiffness reduction. Normal responses (out of plane flexure response) are measured
Wave propagation with the Scanning Laser Doppler Vibrometer (SLDV). The time signals recorded during mea-
Radially weighted and factored-RMS surement have been utilized to calculate the values of Root Mean Square (RMS) response. To
SLDV compensate for loss of amplitude, due to radially propagating and attenuating wave signal,
time samples are weighted by a factor, termed as weighted RMS function. The novelty of the
work is the development of an algorithm to compute and plot the RMS of the time function,
weighted with the radial distance from the source of excitation and also factored which is
termed as Radially Weighted and Factored_RMS (RWF_RMS). Hence the reflected wave from
the damage is magnified and the effect of excitation source is diminished. This algorithm
has been successfully implemented and tested with the experimental data and the damage
location is isolated. The resolution of the technique is evaluated by expressing the size of
defect as a fraction of the wavelength. Absolute Maximum Response (AMR), and contour
maps for elegant damage detection are attempted. It is anticipated that the suggested
approach enables fast and accurate identification of damage location.
Ó 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction health of structures is known as ‘Structural Health

The system’s performance is affected by an adverse
change in the material and geometric properties of a struc-
ture, including changes in system connectivity, which is
defined as damage. The process of implementing a strategy
for damage detection and characterization of the current
⇑ Corresponding author at: Academy of Scientific & Innovative Research
(AcSIR), India.
E-mail addresses: ng@serc.res.in, gnramana68@gmail.com
(N. Gopalakrishnan).
Monitoring (SHM)’, which is an interdisciplinary engineer-
ing field dedicated to the monitoring and assessment of
structural health and durability. Wave propagation based
automatic SHM techniques and the warning-alert systems
are widely adopted in aerospace and nuclear industries [1].
The increasing age of our existing infrastructure makes the
cost of maintenance and repairs a cause of concern. The
methodology adopted in health monitoring for the damage
identification of the structure should be simple, both in
terms of investigations involved and the instrumentation
used for capturing the data [2]. The detection of damage

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.measurement.2015.06.015
0263-2241/Ó 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 T. Jothi Saravanan et al. / Measurement 73 (2015) 520–538
in a complex structure is the most essential issue to deal
with in SHM. It is an overwhelming problem for practical
applications, mainly in complex system, due to the signif-
icant variations caused by unknown load. Apart from these
issues, environmental uncertainty adds further to the com-
plexity of the problem.
SHM system is based on the basic principle that damage
modifies stiffness, mass or damping of a structure and in
turn causes a variation in its dynamic response. The com-
plete state of health of a structure can be determined based
on presence, location, type and severity of damage (diag-
nostics) and estimation of remaining useful life (prognos-
tics). However, in the context of intelligent health
monitoring, there are several possibilities that such wave
propagation analysis can be employed along with certain
emphasis on efficient modelling aspects. These technolo-
gies are currently becoming increasingly common [3,4].
Structural damage detection with smart material can be
performed using several methods like wave propagation
[5,6], frequency response transfer function [7], and elec-
tromechanical (E/M) impedance [8]. Wave propagation in
structural elements has been studied over considerable
period of time. Today, one of the commonly used Lamb
wave transducer is the thin wafer-type piezoelectric sen-
sors, being referred to as PZT.
A class of damage detection methodology is based on
analyzing the elastic wave propagation in structures.
These systems utilize the well-known fact that material
discontinuities affect elastic waves propagating in solids.
Wave frequencies that are most sensitive to damage
depend on the type of structure, the material, size and
the form of damage. Elastic waves are generated and
sensed by an array of transducers either embedded in, or
bonded to, the surface of a structure. The frequencies used
Fig. 1. (a) Schematic view of test specimen-1; (b) 1 – excitation point
(PZT patch); 2 – additional mass; 3 – some measurement points.
521
Fig. 2. Test specimen 2: Aluminum plate without damage.
in this practice are much higher than those typically used
in modal analysis based methods, but lower than in ultra-
sonic testing. At such high frequencies, the responses are
dominated by local modes and the wavelength of the exci-
tation is small enough to detect emergent-type damage.
Lamb waves which are the guided plate waves, offer the
advantage of large-area coverage with minimum installed
sensors. In general Lamb waves are excited using
surface-bonded/embedded piezoelectric (PZT) actuators.
However, this approach is suitable for structures with
low geometrical complexity [9,10].
The other connected papers, which inspire the present
work, are discussed as follows. In the recent years the
experimental investigations are carried out by Scanning
Laser Doppler Vibrometer (SLDV) [11–14]. Contrary to
most wave propagation-based measurement strategies,
based on the employment of PZT transducer networks
attached to or integrated within hosting structures and
thus introducing undesired changes in the local stiffness
and mass distributions, the SLDV technique is free of these
issues. Moreover, as a very robust experimental technique
recently, the SLDV has often been used for investigations of
problems associated with wave propagation in various
structural members. The other papers in this field are
described subsequently and by no-means the list is
exhaustive. Results of experimental measurements in alu-
minum plates by SLDV for damage detection purposes by
Lamb waves have been presented in the paper [15,16],
where the surface around the damage was carefully
scanned.
The application of SLDV reported in the Ref. [17] work
highlights the effectiveness of SLDV in separation of
the in-plane symmetric S0 and the out-of-plane anti-
symmetric A0 Lamb wave modes that can be utilized for
damage detection purposes. The application of Lamb
waves for damage detection in composite plates has been
successfully demonstrated [18], confirming that this
approach can be used for delamination detection and local-
ization as well as the assessment of delamination size. The
application of two different integral-based indices for dam-
age quantification is described lucidly [19], these being the
integral mean value (IMV) and the root-mean square
(RMS). The paper [20] presents the method of damage
identification in an aluminum plate with riveted stiffeners.
522 T. Jothi Saravanan et al. / Measurement 73 (2015) 520–538

Fig. 3. (a and b) Test specimen 2: Aluminum plate with missing bolt (2nd and 4th); (c) 1 – excitation point; 2 – bolts; X – missing bolt; 3 – some
measurement points.

Fig. 4. (a) Test specimen 3: Aluminum plate with hole-I (6 mm); (b) 1 – excitation point; 2 – bolts; 3 – some measurement points.

Fig. 5. (a) Test specimen 3: Aluminum plate with hole-II (10 mm); (b) 1 – excitation point; 2 – bolts; 3 – some measurement points.

Ultrasonic based Lamb wave method damage identifica-
tion in composite materials is discussed elaborately [21].
In this paper, a methodology for damage identification
in an aluminum plate is presented. Damage is simulated
by three different means:
(1) Adding a small mass to the plate surface at a speci-
fied location.
(2) Creating a difference in the boundary conditions
through removal of selective bolts.
(3) Hole at a specific location with varying diameters to
study the resolution of the present methodology.
Elastic waves have been generated with PZT patches
and the normal responses are measured with SLDV. It is
envisioned that the proposed special signal processing
 T. Jothi Saravanan et al. / Measurement 73 (2015) 520–538 523

techniques can be used for analyzing the recorded signals
for damage detection. RMS value of the velocity of the
measured signals has been calculated at every measure-
ment point and the energy distribution has been analyzed.
It has been observed that the values of RMS differed signif-
icantly in damaged areas compared to the values calcu-
lated for the healthy ones and thus enabled to pinpoint
precisely the locations of the damage over the entire mea-
sured surface. The magnitude of propagating wave
decreases initially outward from the excitation point.
This effect produces larger values of RMS near the excita-
tion. To compensate for the loss of amplitude, time sam-
ples are factored (Weighted RMS). The novelty of the
present research work includes the application of
Radially Weighted and Factored_RMS (RWF_RMS) and
Absolute Maximum Response (AMR) contour plots.
Considering the RMS function, producing large values near
the excitation point, it is harder to identify the location of
damage. In order to overcome this issue, RWF_RMS have
been used to diminish the effect of the source excitation.
RWF is a mathematical function that can express the per-
formance of fast varying response. Plotting AMR numerical
map is also found to be an elegant and simple method to
detect the location of damage. Discussion and conclusion
have been given at the end of the paper.
2. Experimental investigation
2.1. Experimental set up
In order to detect the simulated damage, experimental
measurements are taken using the application of SLDV.
The aim of the experiment is to detect the damage in the

Fig. 6. Measurement Set: 1 – PC, 2 – Signal Generator, 3 – Measured Element, 4 – Scanning Laser Vibrometer, 5 – Data Management System.

0.5
0.012
Spectral Amplitude
voltage (V)

0.0
0.006

-0.5

0.000
0.005 0.006 0.007 25 50 75 100
time (sec) Frequency (kHz)

(a) (b)
Fig. 7. Excitation signal of frequency of 50 kHz.
524 T. Jothi Saravanan et al. / Measurement 73 (2015) 520–538

Fig. 8. Elastic wave propagation in aluminum plate (specimen-1) with mass at different time instants (number series above each plot represents time step
samples; X-axis – width of the specimen-1; Y – axis-portion of the length).
 T. Jothi Saravanan et al. / Measurement 73 (2015) 520–538 525

prepared specimen. This section describes the test speci-
men, equipment and experimental procedure used in this
study. The three different sets of experimental measure-
ments are carried out.
Case I: The experiment is conducted on an aluminum
cantilever plate of 0.940 m  0.135 m  0.004 m dimen-
sions (specimen-1). Fig. 1(a) and (b) shows the test speci-
men and the schematic picture of specimen. It also
shows the measurement points defined for SLDV and the
location of excitation. Damage has been simulated by
attaching a small additional mass of 20 grams fixed on
the plate surface [square metal] having dimension of
0.025 m  0.025 m  0.004 m and it is attached by cyano
acrylate (CN) adhesive. Damage simulation through addi-
tion of mass is termed as damage state-1 (DS1).
Case II: The experimental investigation is carried out on
an aluminum plate of 0.760 m  0.420 m  0.004 m
dimensions (specimen-2), with restrained displacements
at the boundaries (Fig. 2). The plate is restrained at both
the ends using 6 bolts on either side. The diameter of the
bolt is 8 mm. Removed bolts (second and fourth from top
on one edge) are treated as damages for the measured
specimen (Fig. 3). The PZT patch is placed on sub-surface
location at middle of the plate. Damage simulation through
relaxed boundary condition is termed as damage state-2
(DS2).
Case III: The experiment is repeated on the aluminum
plate of 0.760 m  0.420 m  0.004 m dimensions
(specimen-3). Specimen-3 is same as specimen-2 with full
restraint by tightened bolts, devoid of any additional mass.
Damage is simulated by drilled holes of varying diameters.
Figs. 4 and 5 represent the damage scenarios for the mea-
sured specimen with hole of two different diameters,
6 mm and 10 mm respectively. However, boundary condi-
tions are not relaxed. In cases I and III and for those
un-disturbed bolts in case-II, the plate has been clamped
with a pre-determined torque set on a torque wrench.
Damage simulation through drilled holes is termed as
damage state-3 (DS3). DS3-1 and DS3-2 refer to the two
diameters of drilled holes covered in damage state-3.

Fig. 9. RMS map for specimen-1 (with mass). [X – axis-width of the specimen-1; Y – axis-portion of the length].

Fig. 10. Log (RMS) map for specimen-1 (with mass). [X-axis – width of the specimen-1; Y – axis-portion of the length].
526 T. Jothi Saravanan et al. / Measurement 73 (2015) 520–538

Fig. 11. Scatter plot ((a) without mass, (b) with mass) and 3D contour maps ((c) without mass, (d) with mass), [X-axis – width of the specimen-1; Y-axis –
portion of its length; Z-axis – RMS value].

Fig. 12. RMS map for specimen-2, ((a) with bolts intact and (b) for missing bolt). [X-axis – width of the specimen-2; Y-axis – portion of the length].

All measurements are recorded using a PSV-500
Scanning Laser Doppler Vibrometer. The Vibrometer con-
sist of optics (scanning head), electronics (front end), and
control (Data Management System). Fig. 6 shows the
experimental set-up used for gathering responses from
the examined element. During the experiment the speci-
men has been isolated from the influence of any external
vibration source, by keeping the target and camera on
the same rigid platform. In SLDV, velocity is the basic mea-
sured quantity, carried out using a modified Mach–
Zehnder interferometer. The benefit of using SLDV is to
perform fast, accurate, high sensitivity and non-contact
measurement capabilities during which entire surface
can be speedily scanned and robotically investigated with
 T. Jothi Saravanan et al. / Measurement 73 (2015) 520–538
Fig. 13. Log (RMS) map for specimen-2, ((a) with bolts intact and (b) for missing bolt). [X-axis – width of the specimen-2; Y-axis – portion of its length].
Fig. 14. RMS map for specimen-3, ((a) hole-1 and (b) hole-2). [X-axis – width of the specimen-3; Y-axis – portion of its length].
elastic and interactively shaped restrained grids. Hence,
the influence of unwanted effects which could alter the
results is removed. The laser vibrometer unit robotically
moves to each point on the scan grid, measures the
response and validates each measured points by checking
the signal-to-noise ratio. Generally, if the reflected laser
signal strength is not good, the data is discarded. After
ensuring that the surface is improved, the experiment is
repeated until the recorded data is of a good quality. A
small amount of laser beam reflected from the measure-
ment surface to sensor head due to dispersion would result
in low signal-to-noise ratio.
2.2. Input excitation signal
It has been concluded that a narrow bandwidth signal
with a certain number of cycles can greatly prevent wave
dispersion. For that reason, windowed tone burst rather
than a single pulse are used often for activating diagnostic
wave signals in practice, although a pulse signal may offer
higher and more concentrated incident energy. In particu-
lar, the Hanning function, h(x) is the most widely adopted
window function defined as,
1h  n i
hðnÞ ¼ 1  cos 2p ðn ¼ 1; 2; . . . :NÞ
2 N1
527
where h(n) is discretized using N sampling points.
Applying Hanning window on a Lamb wave signal with a
waveform of continuous sinusoid tone bursts and at a cen-
tral frequency of 50 kHz, the modulated signal and its
energy spectrum obtained by Fourier transform is shown
in Fig. 7. Energy of the modulated wave signal is observed
to be concentrated within a very narrow frequency range
(centralized at 50 kHz), reducing wave dispersion consid-
erably. The excitation is given using PZT patches [PI
Ceramic 151] by the internal function generator.
A real analog time signal is a continuous signal, which
can be digitized as a sequence of a large number of discrete
samples separated by a small equal interval. For correct
digital signal processing, the sampling theorem must be
fulfilled. This is guaranteed when fsample > 2 (fsignal).
Therefore, the sampling frequency has been set up at suffi-
cient rate such that enough number of time samples have
been registered during each measurement. In order to
ensure the fading out of previously generated elastic
waves, a time interval of 10 ms was kept between each
burst of input excitation. This results in 70 reflections from
the farthest point such that a 2% damped system would be
left with 0.015% of its original amplitude, thus effectively
the original signal would have faded off.
ð1Þ
528 T. Jothi Saravanan et al. / Measurement 73 (2015) 520–538

Fig. 15. Wk_RMS function for aluminum plate with mass (specimen-1). [X-axis – width of the specimen-1; Y-axis – portion of its length].

Fig. 16. Log (Wk_RMS) function for aluminum plate with mass (specimen-1). [X-axis – width of the specimen-1; Y-axis – portion of its length].
 T. Jothi Saravanan et al. / Measurement 73 (2015) 520–538 529

2.3. Spectral analysis of wave motion in thin plates b ðx; yÞ ¼ x

Contemplate a plane wave such that x e ðxÞ, the
e becomes,
differential equation for x
It is important to express mathematically, the phase 2
variations suffered by the wave as it propagates from loca- d xe
2
 b2 x
e ¼0 ð5Þ
tion to location. This is done suitably through use of the dx
governing differential equations. Consider a rectangular qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
plate of thickness ‘h’, loaded in transverse direction as ‘q’ k1 ¼  þb2 k2 ¼  b2 ð6Þ
and with x(x, y) as the out-of-plane displacement. The
material properties like, ‘g’: Inertial damping, ‘#’: The relation between the wavenumber and frequency
Poisson’s ratio and ‘q’: Density are also considered. Using for the un-damped case is given by
Hamilton’s principle, the governing equation for flexural  1  1
behavior of thin plates is given by Ref. [6],
pffiffiffiffiffi qh 4 pffiffiffiffiffi qh 4
k1 ¼  x ; k2 ¼ i x ð7Þ
" # D D
2 3
@x @ x Eh
Dr2 r2 x þ gh þ qh ¼ q; D¼   ð2Þ This is rather analogous to that of the beam if the sub-
@t @t 12 1  #2
sequent relations are made
The spectral formula is, EI D E
h i $ or E $ ð8Þ
2 2 2 b ¼0
Dr r  qhx þ ighx x ð3Þ
A h ð1  #2 Þ
Thus the plate behaves as a beam in plane strain. This
The solution is written as linear sums of solutions of applies to the expression for the phase velocity, ‘c’ and
two differential equations: group speed, ‘cg’ also:
rffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
qhx2 þ ihx  1  1
r2 x b 1 ¼ 0; r2 x
b 21 þ b2 x b 22 þ b2 x
b 2 ¼ 0; b2 ¼ x pffiffiffiffiffi D 4 dx pffiffiffiffiffi D 4
D c¼ ¼ x ; cg ¼ ¼2 x ¼ 2c ð9Þ
ð4Þ k qh dk qh

Fig. 17. Wk_RMS function for aluminum plate with missing bolts (specimen-2). [X-axis – width of the specimen-2; Y-axis – portion of its length].
530 T. Jothi Saravanan et al. / Measurement 73 (2015) 520–538
3. Measurements and comparison of results obtained
from different algorithms
In order to obtain an image of the propagating wave
the velocities are measured at every measurement point
in the direction perpendicular to the plate surface. The
signal strength is evaluated and every measurement
has been repeated 10 times and averaged in order to
diminish the Gaussian, zero-mean noise and improve the
signal-to-noise ratio.
3.1. RMS
RMS based damage detection technique is proposed for
more precise damages pattern recognition. Owing to the
fact that the additional mass introduces discontinuity,
propagating waves are reflected and the damage became
a source of new reflecting waves. This effect is clearly vis-
ible in Fig. 8 shown below. This phenomenon is used for
damage detection. The measured signals have been recal-
culated for every measurement point according to the fol-
lowing relation:
sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
PN 2
i¼1 f i
RMS ¼
N
Fig. 18. Log (Wk_RMS) function for aluminum plate with missing bolts (specimen-2). [X-axis – width of the specimen-2; Y-axis – portion of its length].
2
where f i is a squared vibration magnitude of ‘ith’ sample
and ‘N’ is the number of samples. The unit of RMS signal
is m/s. While propagating, the wave reflects from the dam-
age and leads to changes in the energy distribution. These
variations can also be related with changes in the RMS val-
ues and therefore can be used for damage detection and
localization purposes. Therefore calculating the signal
energy for every point may give precise information about
the damages. Nevertheless, comparatively large values of
RMS dominates near the excitation points and as a result
it is difficult to differentiate the areas experiencing smaller
values of vibration signal. In order to overcome this prob-
lem it is proposed to use a logarithmic scale for the values
of the RMS function calculated. The progressive plot is
obtained for the study of the propagating waves in Fig. 8.
In the total registered time samples, the excitation exists
from 273 to 383 samples only. Numerically computed con-
tour maps for 273–456 time samples are shown. Each time
sample is separated from the previous one by the sampling
interval (1/500,000 s). For each block of 25 time step sam-
ples the wave propagation is plotted. It is clearly seen from
the plots how elastic wave are generated and after few
time samples the reflection of wave from the edge of the
plate can be observed (325–350 and 350 beyond).
ð10Þ Figs. 9 and 10 presents the RMS and logarithmic RMS
maps for the aluminum plate (specimen-1) under
 T. Jothi Saravanan et al. / Measurement 73 (2015) 520–538
investigation calculated based on all time instants. For bet-
ter perceptibility, the response scattering in logarithmic
scale is presented. It may be concluded from the presented
graphs, the place of damage is clearly identified. The scat-
ter plot and 3D contour maps are illustrated in Fig. 11 from
which the location of the additional mass can be identified
easily. In Figs. 9–11, X-axis correspond to the width of the
specimen-1 and the Y-axis corresponds to portion of the
length.
Figs. 12 and 13 show the RMS contour maps for
specimen-2 under linear and logarithmic scaling respec-
tively. The damage is simulated by missing bolt (DS2)
and altered boundary conditions. Reflections from the
missing bolts are visualized clearly.
Fig. 14 shows the RMS contour maps for specimen-3
with two different diameters of holes (DS3) drilled on to
the specimen. Hole-1 corresponds to a diameter of 6 mm
(DS3-1) and hole-2 corresponds to a diameter of 10 mm
(DS3-2). Reflections and increased RMS values are seen
around the dis-continuities. In Figs. 12–14, X-axis corre-
spond to the length of the specimen-2 (or specimen-3)
and the Y-axis corresponds to the width of the specimen.
3.2. Weighted RMS
The amplitude of vibration of the propagating wave
reduces with increasing distance from the excitation
Fig. 19. Wk_RMS function for aluminum plate with hole-1 (specimen-3). [X-axis – width of the specimen-3; Y-axis – portion of its length].
531
source. In order to compensate for this amplitude reduc-
tion and smoothen the distribution of the RMS function
in the entire surface, the registered time samples are mul-
tiplied by a weighting factor, termed as, ‘Weighted RMS’.
The measured signals have been recalculated for every
measurement point according to the following relation,
sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
PN 2 k
i¼1 ðf i  i Þ
W k RMS ¼ ð11Þ
N
where W k RMS is the proposed weighted RMS function and
‘k’ is a power of the weight factor. W k RMS and log
(W k RMS) calculated using time samples for different ‘k’
values are shown in Figs. 15 and 16, for specimen-1 with
DS1. From the experimental measurements, the results
obtained confirm that better resolution corresponds to
higher values of the weighting factor W k , i.e. for linear
k = 1 or square k = 2. Similar contour maps are obtained
for specimens 2 and 3, with DS2 and DS3 respectively
(Figs. 17–20). However, attention must be given to mini-
mize the influence of the boundary reflected waves. This
can be very well observed in the case of results presented
in Figs. 15, 17, 19 and 20. But in case of logarithmic RMS
damage maps the influence of the weighting factor W k is
much less prominent and relatively good resolution of
the maps can be obtained, even for the unweighted case,
532 T. Jothi Saravanan et al. / Measurement 73 (2015) 520–538
i.e. when the weighting factor W k = 1, as clearly seen from
Figs. 16 and 18.
3.3. Radially weighted and factored RMS
Weighted RMS derives its weight with reference to
temporally increasing samples. Because of the multiple
reflections the excitation source at larger time interval is
magnified unnecessarily, which is a drawback. In order to
over come this, Radially Weighted and Factored RMS
(RWF_RMS) is introduced which derives its weight with
reference to distance. Since the excitation point is consid-
ered as center, the multiple reflections at the source loca-
tion have no effect.
RMS function produces large values near the excitation
point and this makes it harder to identify the damage at a
farther distance. In order to consider only the RMS function
at the damage localization, RWF_RMS is used. The mea-
sured signals have been recalculated for every measure-
ment point according to the following relation,
2sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi3
PN 2
i¼1 f i 5
RWF  RMS ¼ 4 ðRWFÞk
N point and the damage detection level also reduces. Hence
where RWF is the radially weighted and factored value for
each point and k is a power of the weight factor. RWF is a
Fig. 20. Wk_RMS function for aluminum plate with hole-2 (specimen-3). [X-axis – width of the specimen-3; Y-axis – portion of its length].
mathematical function that can predict the behavior of fast
changing response. It is a real function which depends only
on the distance of the considered point from the origin or
any standard reference point ‘o’, termed as center point.
Generally, the RMS damage maps can be improved by
using this mathematical function to consider RMS function
only at the damage location and not at the excitation point.
Therefore the excitation point is considered as the center
point ‘o’ i.e. (x0, y0) and the radial distance is calculated
for every measured point i.e. (xj, yj) using the following
relation,
qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
ðRWFÞj ¼ ðx0  xj Þ2 þ ðy0  yj Þ2 ð13Þ
Figs. 21–24 illustrate RWF_RMF map obtained on the
basis of different weight factors, for specimens (1, 2 and
3) with damage states DS1, DS2, DS3-1 and DS3-2 respec-
tively. It is very clear from these numerically computed
maps from the experimental data, that as ‘k’ value
increases, the RMS function at excitation point reduces
and thus shows only the damages. But if ‘k’ value is greater
than 0.5, the RMS function shows null value at excitation
ð12Þ
by using optimum ‘k’ value i.e. k = 0.25, the damage in
the plate can be clearly visualized. Therefore this method
can also be used effectively for multi-damage localization.
 T. Jothi Saravanan et al. / Measurement 73 (2015) 520–538 533

Fig. 21. (RWF_RMS) function for aluminum plate (specimen-1; DS1). [X-axis – width of the specimen-1; Y-axis – portion of its length].

3.4. Cylindrical wave front and the wave attenuation
characteristics
A normal stress wave moving on a planar object and
fully engulfing its thickness shall move as a cylindrical
wave front, with the radius of the annular cylinder equal
to the ratio of the time elapsed and the group velocity of
the wave. For an approximated constant thickness of this
expanding annular cylindrical wave front, strain energy
of wave propagation is inversely proportional to the cir-
cumference of the expanding circle. The energy ‘U’ can be
written as [22],
1 ment arising out of the attenuation in a propagating wave.
U/ ; U / x2
d
where ‘d’ is the diameter of the expanding cylindrical wave
front, whereas ‘x’ is the peak particle displacements. Hence
x / p1ffiffid. Thus it can be inferred that the peak particle dis-
placement and velocity are inversely proportional to the
square root of the radial distance from the source of exci-
tation. Similarly, it can be proved that for a spherical wave
front (for an expanding ballistic wave), x / 1d. In other
words, if an artificial weightage proportional to p1ffiffid. is
adopted, attenuation will be compensated and no loss of
amplitude farther from the source will be seen. The above
argument justifies the correctness of the weighting factor,
pffiffiffi
which is used as d to compensate for the loss of displace-
ð14Þ
534 T. Jothi Saravanan et al. / Measurement 73 (2015) 520–538

Fig. 22. (RWF_RMS) function for aluminum plate (specimen-2; DS2). [X-axis – width of the specimen-2; Y-axis – portion of its length].

3.5. Proximity of excitation source and the damage location techniques developed for damage detection. Shorter test-
ing by reducing time and skipped signal averaging is exam-
Another important drawback of this methodology ined in this study.
arises in a situation, wherein the wave source and damage
locations are very close by, causing the reflected amplitude
4. Discussions
to diminish out due to its proximity to the source, owing to
the radial weighting. It is proposed to introduce two force
The paper presents an experimental method of locating
sources, separated from each other by a considerable dis-
a damage, its visualization and diagnosis in a plate-like
tance, such that, even if a damage is shadowed out due
structure using high-frequency elastic waves by a scanning
to its proximity to a source, the reflections due to the other
technique based on a complete non-contact SLDV, also
source shall magnify this damage. However, the origin for
exploiting a novel signal processing technique. A series of
calculating the radial distance shall be at the center of the
three scanning experiments have been performed in order
particular force source from where the interrogating wave
to extract features related to damage. These include,
is being sent. There is no simultaneous excitation proposed
and sequential operation is preferred.
1. Mass addition and consequent impedance change.
2. Alteration of boundary conditions through removal of
3.6. AMR contour plot bolts.
3. Drilled hole with varying diameters to study the resolu-
Figs. 25–27 presents a numerical map illustrating the tion of the present methodology.
AMR contour plot obtained from the measured signal col-
lected from SLDV unit for specimens (1, 2 and 3) with dam- From an SDOF system analogy, addition of mass is
age states DS1, DS2, DS3-1 and DS3-2 respectively. The equivalent to reduction of stiffness and the impedance ‘Z’
 

absolute maximum value is calculated for every measured can be stated as, Z ¼ ix k  mx2 þ icx wherein k, m
point and the contour is plotted. This method is quite sim- and c are stiffness, mass and damping of the system and
ple to detect the location of damage, rather than analyzing x is the circular frequency. Damage is simulated by reduc-
the recorded signal using special signal processing tion in stiffness or addition of mass, both resulting in wave
 T. Jothi Saravanan et al. / Measurement 73 (2015) 520–538
Fig. 23. (RWF_RMS) function for aluminum plate (specimen-3; DS3-1). [X-axis – width of the specimen-3; Y-axis – portion of its length].
reflections and refractions. For the purpose of this study
both stiffness reduction and mass enhancements are
attempted. It is worthwhile noting that a number of
researchers have attempted damage simulation by mass
addition in their experimental studies [23–26].
The proposed method is based on changes in energy
distribution of the propagating wave obtained by calculat-
ing RMS values at every measured point. It is envisioned
that the proposed approach shall be appropriate for dam-
age visualization. Since the introduced damage replicates
structural discontinuity, impedance around the disconti-
nuity changes and so does the energy of propagating and
reflecting waves and as a consequence, damage becomes
a source of new train of waves. These effects are clearly
observed on the resulting RMS numerical maps.
The wave measurement carried using SLDV will excite
two basic symmetric and anti-symmetric modes (So and
Ao) and it is worthwhile to mention, that SLDV unit mea-
sures out-of-plane velocity, and this is why dominant Ao
mode has been observed in experiments. The speed of
the Ao mode at 50 kHz is calculated as 1400 m/s. Ratio of
the damage size (x) by the wavelength (k) parameter for
each of the damage states (DS1, DS2, DS3-1 and DS3-2)
are kx ¼ 0:9; 0:3; 0:25; 0:35 respectively. However, the
535
damage identification methodology though faltering at
DS3-1 with reduced RMS values, performs satisfactorily
with the proposed feature enhancement algorithm.
However, DS1, DS2 and DS3-2 are identifiable.
The excitation source at larger time interval tends to get
magnified unnecessarily in temporal-based weighted RMS.
The present methodology over come this drawback,
through using radially weighted and factored RMS, which
derives its weight with reference to distance. Since the
excitation point is considered as center, the multiple
reflections at the source location have no effect.
The weighting process proposed, facilitates easy identi-
fication of damage location and differentiation of damage
from the excitation point as well as boundaries. Likewise,
logarithmic values of RMS function allow an easy damage
recognition. In the direction of establishing the robustness
of the special signal processing techniques, a new
RWF_RMS method is proposed. An elegant simple equation
is brought out as a result of supplementary interpretation
of RMS function. The resolution of RMS damage maps can
be efficiently increased by using this mathematical model
to consider RMS function only at the damage location
and not at the excitation point. Also, AMR contour plot is
a simple and a speedier method proposed to locate the
536 T. Jothi Saravanan et al. / Measurement 73 (2015) 520–538

Fig. 24. (RWF_RMS) function for aluminum plate (specimen-3; DS3-2). [X-axis – width of the specimen-3; Y-axis – portion of its length].

(a) Without mass (b) With mass

Fig. 25. AMR numerical map (specimen-1; DS1) (a) without mass and (b) with mass. [X-axis – width of the specimen-1; Y-axis – portion of its length].

damage, rather than examining the recorded signals and
this can be favorably made use of in a damage forecasting
scenario.
Additionally, sensitivity studies need to be accom-
plished concerning the non-linearity rising out of a severe
damage and during multi-damage scenario. Also, the pre-
sent study has to be extended in the context of advanced
signal processing techniques and for actual damage detec-
tion within more complex structures. In summary, the
method shows great potential for rapid damage
 T. Jothi Saravanan et al. / Measurement 73 (2015) 520–538 537

Fig. 26. AMR numerical map (specimen-2; DS2). [X-axis – width of the specimen-2; Y-axis – portion of its length].

Fig. 27. AMR numerical map (specimen-3; DS3-1 and DS3-2). [X-axis – width of the specimen-3; Y-axis – portion of its length].

localization of structural elements and further work is in
progress in this direction for other large structures.
5. Conclusions
 Three different damage scenarios are simulated and
detected with SLDV coupled with an image enhance-
ment algorithm. Additional mass, though not a physical
damage, it is equivalent to a state of reduced impedance
and will result in wave reflections and this fact is exper-
imentally observed.
 From the limited experimental study, damage sizes up
to 0.3 times the wave lengths are detectable. Below this
value, the reflected signal is feeble and possibly may be
mired in the back-ground noise. This is to be confirmed
by further studies.
 An RMS based contour plots to locate a damage is fur-
ther refined and improved, with additional weightage
proportional to the radial distance from the source of
excitation. A time based weighting has the possibility
of trapping the source of excitation as a damage
location during conditions of multiple-reflections.
Whereas, the proposed methodology using radially
(with its origin from the force source) weighted and fac-
tored RMS, shall always perform a negative bias of the
source and shall suppress it.
 The problem of a damage location being very close to
the excitation source and thus getting weighted out of
reckoning is a possibility. To mitigate this, sequentially
excited multiple sources are proposed, such that the
damage will be located by a second source, even if it
is missed by one source due to the proximity.
 Absolute maximum response plots, in lieu of RMS plots
can also be used with and without weighting factors to
locate the damage locations.
Acknowledgments
The paper is published with the approval of Director,
CSIR-SERC. The first and second authors acknowledge the
tacit guidance of Tapas Kamakshi, Guru Ramana and the
Maha Periyava of Kanchi. Our sincere thanks to the anony-
mous reviewer for his valuable comments and suggestions.
538 T. Jothi Saravanan et al. / Measurement 73 (2015) 520–538

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