Multicrack Detection in Two-Dimensional Structures by Means of GA-Based Strategies

We propose a methodological approach for the detection of multiple defects inside dielectric or conductive media. Two innovative algorithms are developed starting from the inverse scattering equations solved by means of different optimization strategies. In the first implementation, a hierarchical strategy based on parallel-subprocesses is considered, whereas the second algorithm employs a single-process architecture. Whatever the implementation, the arising cost function is minimized through a suitable hybrid-coded genetic algorithm, whose individuals encode the problem unknowns. In order to achieve a computational saving, the formulation based on the inhomogeneous Green´s function is adopted and each crack-region is parametrized by means of a selected set of descriptive parameters. The approach as well as its different implementations are assessed through a selected set of numerical experiments and in comparison with previously developed single-crack inverse scattering methods