Damage Detection in Multi-wire Cables Using Continuous Wavelet Transform Analysis of Ultrasonic Guided Waves

Multi-wire cables are widely used in engineering structures such as power lines, bridges, oil platforms and others. However, the presence of potential damage in these structures makes it necessary to develop a non-destructive inspection monitoring method. In this work, a method that could be implemented as a monitoring system for multi-wire cables using guided ultrasonic waves is proposed. Time-frequency representation of non-stationary signals was based on continuous wavelet transform technique for detection of artificial damage. The time frequency analysis was used to extract damage features from the detected signal. It was found that the proposed method was very sensitive to the presence of peripheral damage in the study cables.