Identification of Damage Using Lamb Waves : From Fundamentals to Applications

Lamb waves are guided waves that propagate in thin plate or shell structures. There has been a clear increase of interest in using Lamb waves for identifying structural damage, entailing intensive research and development in this field over the past two decades. Now on the verge of maturity for diverse engineering applications, this emerging technique serves as an encouraging candidate for facilitating continuous and automated surveillance of the integrity of engineering structures in a cost-effective manner. In comparison with conventional nondestructive evaluation techniques such as ultrasonic scanning and radiography which have been well developed over half a century, damage identification using Lamb waves is in a stage of burgeoning development, presenting a number of technical challenges in application that need to be addressed and circumvented. It is these two aspects that have encouraged us to write this book, with the intention of consolidating the knowledge and know-how in the field of Lamb-wave-based damage identification, and of promoting widespread attention to mature application of this technique in the practical engineering sphere. This book provides a comprehensive description of key facets of damage identification technique using Lamb waves, based on the authors knowledge, comprehension and experience, ranging from fundamental theory through case studies to engineering applications.