Structural health monitoring of composite structures using stress wave methods

A program to implement cross-borehole tomography using a simultaneous iterative reconstruction technique (SIRT) has been written. The effectiveness of the program in detecting damages in flat plates has been tested through utilising a combination of computer simulations and experimental tests. Images of sample areas were reconstructed from the generation of simulated data for sample areas containing damage zones of different shapes and sizes located at various positions within the region. Conclusive findings were made from the analysis of the resulting reconstructed images. Cross-borehole tomography is one of several stress wave tomographic techniques that has been used successfully in other industries, but have not fully matured in its use in the health monitoring of metallic and composite structures.