Modal analysis of delaminated composite plates using the finite element method and damage detection via combined Ritz/2D-wavelet analysis

Structural studies to find defects (in particular delaminations) in composite plates have been very prevalent in the Structural Health Monitoring field. The present work develops a new method to detect delaminations in CFRP (Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer) plates. In this paper the method is validated with numerical simulations, which come to support its adequacy for use with real acquisition data. This is done firstly through the implementation of a delaminated plate finite element. Using the classical lamination plate theory, delamination is considered in the kinematic equations through jump functions and additional degrees of freedom. The element allows the introduction of n d delaminations through its thickness. Classical QMITC (Quadrilateral Mixed Interpolation Tensorial Components) and DKQ (Discrete Kirchhoff Quadrilateral) elements are used for the membrane and bending FEM (Finite Element Method) formulation. Second, using the vibration modes obtained with the FEM, a damage location technique based on the variational Ritz method and Wavelet Analysis is proposed. The approach has the advantage of requiring only damaged modes and not the healthy ones. Both FEM simulations and Ritz/Wavelet damage detection schemes are applied in an orthotropic CFRP plate with the stacking sequence [ 0 / 90 ] 3 S . In addition, the influence of delamination thickness position, boundary conditions and added noise (in order to simulate experimental measures) was studied.