3D Modelling of the Scattering of the Fundamental Anti-Symmetric Lamb Mode (A₀) Propagating within a Point-Impacted Transverse-Isotropic Composite Plate

• Main Authors: Dilbag Singh, Mourad Bentahar, Charfeddine Mechri, Rachid El Guerjouma
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-08-01
• Series: Applied Sciences
• Subjects: guided waves; CFRC composite plate; impact point damage; 3D-FE modeling
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/16/7276
• ISSN: 2076-3417

The present paper deals with an effort to model impact damage in 3D-FE simulation. In this work, we studied the scattering behavior of an incident A₀ guided wave mode propagating towards an impacted damaged zone created within a quasi-isotropic composite plate. Besides, barely visible impact damage of the desired energy was created and imaged using ultrasonic bulk waves in order to measure the size of the damage. The 3D-FE frequency domain model is then used to simulate the scattering of an incident guided wave at a frequency below an A₁ cut-off with a wavelength comparable to the size of the damaged zone. The damage inside the plate is modeled as a conical-shaped geometry with decayed elastic stiffness properties. The model was first validated by comparing the directivity of the scattered fields for the A₀ Lamb mode predicted numerically with the experimental measurements. The modeling of the impact zone with conical-shape geometry showed that the scattering directivity of the displacement field depends significantly on the size (depth and width) of the conical damage created during the point-impact of the composite with potential applications allowing the determination of the geometric characteristics of the impacted areas.