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Broadband Generation of Ultrasonic Guided Waves Using Piezoceramics and Sub-Band Decomposition
nicolas quaegebeur, Patrice Masson, Philippe Micheau, and nezih Mrad
AbstractClassically, damage detection or dispersion curve determination using piezoceramic-generated guided waves has been based on analysis of propagation properties of multiple narrowband excitation signals. However, dispersion and multimodal propagation impair the determination of propagation properties. More recently, it has been proposed to consider broadband excitations for both damage imaging and group velocity estimation. Among existing transducer technologies, although laser excitation is prone to practical limitations in terms of dimensions and generated amplitudes, it allows generation of noncontact, point-like broadband displacement. Thus, broadband generation of guided waves using piezoceramics can be envisioned. However, direct impulse response measurements are limited by the generated amplitude, leading to low SNR measurements. For this purpose, chirp excitations have been proposed using variable-frequency bursts, leading to phase and amplitude variations with respect to the frequency, such that this approach is not suitable for precise estimation of time of flight (ToF) or modal amplitude. In this paper, a sub-band decomposition technique that allows high-SNR measurements of impulse response in a given frequency range is proposed. Broadband excitation is decomposed over a given number of frequency sub-bands, generated by a piezoceramic element and measurement is performed using a laser Doppler vibrometer (LDV) or a piezoceramic sensor. Application to experimental estimation of group velocity and damage detection in pitchcatch configuration is proposed. It is shown that the proposed method allows damage estimation without a priori knowledge of the damage size, whereas narrowband techniques can fail at specific wavelengths.

I. Introduction on-destructive testing (ndT) of thin-walled structures (e.g., shells, tanks, and pipes) involves a meticulous through-the-thickness scan over large areas. a builtin structural health monitoring (sHM) approach, rather than a traditional ndT maintenance approach, would be most desirable because the associated inspection costs would be reduced [1]. among the various techniques available, an sHM system based on guided wave (lamb wave) propagation with piezoelectric transducers [2] seems to be a cost-effective method for a quick and continuous inspection of thin-walled metallic [3] or composite structures [4].
Manuscript received september 19, 2011; accepted January 19, 2012. n. quaegebeur, P. Masson, and P. Micheau are with the Groupe dacoustique de lUniversit de sherbrooke (GaUs), department of Mechanical Engineering, Universit de sherbrooke, sherbrooke, qc, canada (e-mail: nicolas.quaegebeur@usherbrooke.ca). n. Mrad is with the department of national defense (dnd), defense r&d canada (drdc), ottawa, on, canada. doI http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/TUFFc.2012.2277 08853010/$25.00

Usually, the inspection is performed using a sparse or compact array of piezoceramics bonded on the structure and the interrogation is performed using a pitch-catch approach [5], electro-mechanical impedance changes [6], pulse-echo measurements [7], or imaging techniques [7][9]. Most of the damage detection and localization approaches are currently based on the measurement of a time-of-flight (ToF) and the knowledge of the group velocity for one mode propagating in a given frequency range. accurate detection of damage in both metallic and composite structures requires the knowledge of generated wavelengths with respect to the damage size because resonance phenomena and complex reflection patterns occur [10][12]. Thus, multimodal and broadband techniques allow monitoring of possible damage types and sizes over extended ranges because extended frequency content is generated and monitored. recently, multimodal approaches have been proposed, based on multimodal imaging of dispersed signals [13] or broadband generation of signals using chirp excitations [14]. The advantage of those multimodal and broadband imaging techniques is their ability to integrate damage information in an extended bandwidth, allowing refined analysis of damage size and type. Broadband excitation is also required for experimental analysis of dispersion curves. classically, the group velocity over a large frequency range is determined by successive ToF measurements at different discrete frequencies [3], [15]. In practical cases, applicability in the case of multimodal and dispersive propagation [16] has been proposed for narrowband excitation but the applicability in the case of broadband excitation remains a challenge. To allow experimental (or numerical) determination of group velocity in the case of broadband, multimodal, or dispersive propagation, time-frequency analysis of impulse responses has been proposed using the chirplet algorithm [17] or various time-frequency (TF) analyses [18]. The principle is to generate locally a broadband surface displacement and measure locally the surface displacement at a known distance between sensor and actuator. In practical cases, a laser doppler vibrometer (ldV) is used as a noncontact, single-point sensor and a localized excitation is ensured by a nd:yaG laser. The analysis of the measured impulse responses can be performed using different TF algorithms, but among existing techniques, reassigned short-time Fourier transform (resTFT) has been identified as the best candidate to represent dispersive and multimodal propagation of guided waves [19]. This approach is suited to analysis of group velocity in dispersive media

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but the limiting practical aspects of the use of expensive nd:yag lasers must be considered. Thus, for both damage detection or dispersion identification, broadband generation of guided waves using piezoceramics must be considered. Because of the finite size of the piezoceramics, wavelength filtering naturally occurs [20] and cannot be avoided. In practical cases, impulse response measurement of the system composed of the host structure with attached piezoceramic actuator appears to be a good approximation of the host structures mechanical response that can be generated. However, direct impulse response measurement cannot be performed because of the low signal energy carried by a short impulse and the low snr of this method. Thus, signal processing techniques must be considered to allow high-snr broadband generation of guided waves using piezoceramics. recently, a chirp excitation method was proposed for generation of broadband signals using a variable-frequency burst [21]. This approach allows the global snr to be increased and allows generation of a broadband excitation in a given frequency range but is limited in applicability because of the large time-windows, up to 200 s, that must be employed. Moreover, for practical implementation, phase and amplitude variations with respect to the frequency cannot be avoided and limit the extraction of precise features, such as ToF and modal amplitude for multimodal propagation. Thus, a refined formulation must be proposed to allow broadband generation of guided waves with high snr while keeping a constant phase and amplitude of the input signal. This paper presents a sub-band decomposition technique that allows high-snr measurements of the impulse response of a system composed of a host structure with attached piezoceramics in a given frequency range. Broadband excitation is decomposed over a given number of frequency sub-bands, generated by a piezoceramic and measurement of displacement is performed using ldV or another piezoceramic. To guarantee a perfect reconstruction of impulse response in a given bandwidth, reconstruction filters are used, based on the maximum likelihood principle. application to experimental estimation of group velocity is first proposed and the influence of the number of sub-bands is studied on a metallic plate. It is demonstrated that the sub-band decomposition allows reconstruction of impulse responses without the phase shift classically

observed using chirp signals, and the snr increases as the square of the sub-band number. Then, application to pitch-catch measurement is presented for detection of hole damage and precise estimation of damage size. It is shown that the proposed method allows damage estimation without a priori knowledge of the damage size, whereas narrowband techniques can fail at specific wavelengths. section II presents the methodology used for sub-band decomposition and reconstruction of impulse response. section III presents the experimental setup and application to group velocity estimation and damage detection in pitch-catch configuration.

II. sub-Band decomposition of Impulse response A. Impulse Response Measurement In this section, the theoretical approach is proposed for impulse response measurement with high snr using subband decomposition. The goal is to estimate the impulse response of a dispersive wave propagation impaired by the presence of measurement noise. The measured impulse response i(t) after propagation of an impulse signal (t) in a dispersive structure, represented by its impulse response d(t), as shown in Fig. 1, can be expressed as i(t) = d(t) (t) + n(t), (1)

where denotes the convolution product and n(t) is the random measurement noise, associated with a constant power spectral density (Psd) over the considered frequency range. In practical cases, because a large separation distance between actuator and sensor is required for proper estimation of ToF, low displacement is measured when considering attenuated propagation in a composite, for example. Therefore, the snr appears to be a limiting factor for proper estimation of impulse response, and, thus, group velocity or broadband imaging. B. Chirp Response Measurement a first approach to high-snr measurement is the chirp excitation method for generation of broadband signals [21]

Fig. 1. description of the signal processing used for determination of impulse response using (right) sub-band decomposition and (left) measurement of impulse response using impulse signal or chirp excitation.

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using a variable-frequency burst. In that case, the input signal c(t) is defined as c(t) = sin

Perfect reconstruction is obtained in a considered frequency range [l, h] if and only if [22] 1=

((

t ( l) t , 2T h

) )

0 < t < T , (2)

H i()G i(),
i =1

[ l, h ]

(7)

where T is the length of the chirp signal and l and h are the minimum and maximum angular frequencies generated, respectively. In that case, the measured output after propagation is defined by i c(t) = d(t) c(t) + n(t). (3)

Improvement of snr can therefore be obtained by using this technique with an associated broadband excitation. However, large input signal lengths are required in practical cases (up to 200 s) and this method does not allow a constant frequency content to be maintained over the desired bandwidth, because oscillations resulting from the Gibbs phenomenon are observed in the frequency domain [21]. Finally, this method does not guarantee a constant phase as a function of frequency, so refined analysis of ToF over an extended bandwidth cannot be performed. consequently, a more general formulation is proposed herein using sub-band decomposition that allows a significant increase of snr while reconstructing the impulse response d(t) in a given frequency range. C. Sub-Band Decomposition of Impulse Signal To increase the snr of impulse response measurement and guarantee the perfect reconstruction of the impulse response d(t), a sub-band decomposition procedure is used, as presented in Fig. 1. The procedure involves three major steps: decompose the input signal into N sub-band signals si(t): s i(t) = g i(t) (t), (4)

where represents the angular frequency, l and h are the lower and upper frequency bounds, and Gi() and Hi() respectively denote the Fourier transforms of the decomposition filter gi(t) and the reconstruction filter hi(t) associated with the ith sub-band. In the general case, the gi(t) filter basis can be chosen from a wide variety of functions, such as adaptive FIr filters [22], discrete cosine transform (dcT) [23], daubechies wavelet basis [24], or Morlet wavelet basis [25], and perfect reconstruction can be computed using matrix inversion [26] or adaptive filtering [22]. In the present case, the signal basis is built from a Hanning-windowed burst. Thus, in the present study, the ith sub-band component is defined in the time domain by t g i(t) = sin( it + i ) sin , T i
2

0 < t < Ti , (8)

where i is the central angular frequency, i is the phase, and Ti is the burst duration. From a theoretical point of view, any frequency discretization i in a given frequency range [l, h] can be used to decompose the frequency domain. nevertheless, for the present analysis, we chose to limit the overlap between two adjacent sub-bands. Thus, the ith sub-band is considered within the bandwidth = i i, where i = 2/Ti denotes the main lobe bandwidth, and identical widths i are chosen. Thus, if N sub-bands are used, the central frequencies i are chosen using the following parameters: i = l + i ( N 11 )(
h

l),

i = 1 N .

(9)

where gi(t) denotes the transfer function of the decomposition filter i. Generate each sub-band signal into the system to measure its response pi(t): p i(t) = d(t) s i(t) + n i(t), (5)

This condition ensures that the bandwidth is equal for all sub-bands, and that all signal lengths Ti are equal. The choice of time window Ti influences the overlap between each sub-band. In the present case, because only two adjacent components are considered in a given sub-band, the time window is adjusted such that its Fourier transform is null at the boundaries, i.e., Gi(i+1) = 0. This condition leads to the following choice of time window length Ti: Ti = 4 1 ( N ).
h l

where ni(t) denotes the measurement noise n(t) associated with the ith measurement, associated with a constant Psd i. reconstruct the impulse response using reconstruction filters hi(t): i s(t) =

(10)

h i(t) p i(t).
i =1

To guarantee a linear phase between all components, the maximum value of components must be in phase in the time-domain. Thus, for each component, i is chosen such that the amplitude is maximal at t = Ti/2: i = iTi . 2 2 (11)

(6)

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The perfect reconstruction condition (7) can be rewritten for overlapping regions between i and i+1: 1 = H i() i() + H i +1() i +1(), G G [ i, i +1]. (12)

The influence of each sub-domain on the overlapping band is described using the maximum-likelihood principle, which ensures a smooth transition [27]. In that case, (12) gives: H i() = H i() =
2 G i() + G i +1()

phase (bottom right). In the case of chirp excitation, oscillations in Fourier transform magnitude are observed and a non-constant slope in the reconstructed signal phase is present, because of the nonlinear phase of the input signal. To guarantee a constant energy over the desired bandwidth, reconstruction filters are required and in that case, the phase shift is avoided in the time-domain, such that estimation of group velocity can be determined directly without any delay compensation. D. Measurement Noise and Sub-Band Decomposition

G i ()

, 2 ,

[ i, i +1] (13) [ i 1, i ] (14) (15)

2 2 G i() + G i 1()

G i ()

Using (4)(6), the reconstructed signal can be expressed as N i s(t) = d(t) h i(t) g i(t) + i =1

H i() = 0,

otherwise,

h i(t) n i(t), (16)

i =1

where denotes the complex conjugate and || denotes the magnitude. In practical cases, Hi() can be obtained analytically or computed using experimental signals. Fig. 2 illustrates the sub-band decomposition and influence of reconstruction filters. In this case, the bandwidth of interest is defined by fl = 100 kHz and fh = 1 MHz, and 4 sub-bands are used for reconstruction of impulse response filtered between those frequencies. Thus, 4 central frequencies are used from 100 kHz to 1 MHz at steps of 300 kHz. Two cases are represented: using [Fig. 2(a)] chirp excitation with an input signal of 70 s length and [Fig. 2(b)] using sub-band decomposition. For each case, the time-domain signals are plotted (left) and the Fourier transforms are represented in magnitude (top right) and

leading to the is(t) noise measurement Psd s() at angular frequency : s() =

H i() 2 i ,
i =1

(17)

where i denotes the Psd of ni(t), statistically identical to n(t), such that i = for all frequencies and sub-bands. For between i and i+1, only two adjacent sub-bands are non-null, such that (17) and (13) give

H i() 2 =
i =1

2 H i() + H i +1()

(18)

Fig. 2. Influence of the reconstruction filter for sub-band decomposition. In the present case, N = 4 sub-bands are used for decomposition between fl = 100 kHz and fh = 1 MHz. The time-domain signal (left), fast Fourier transform (FFT) amplitude (top right), and phase (bottom right) are plotted (a) using chirp excitation and (b) with reconstruction filters as described in (14).

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TaBlE I. Mechanical Parameters of the aluminum Plate Under consideration. Material al-6061 Total size 11m Thickness 1.54 mm youngs modulus 71.1 GPa Poissons ratio 0.33 density 2730 kg/m3

H i() 2 =
i =1

1
2 G i() + G i +1()

. 2

(19)

If the time window Ti is calculated according to (10), then for [i, i+1], the magnitude of the direct summation of Gi() + Gi+1() approximately equals (with small amplitude variations) the maximum value of a single component, determined analytically by calculating the Fourier transform of (8):

i =1

2 H i()

1 G i() + G i +1()
2

4 . Ti

(20)

impulse signal or sub-band functions si(t) according to (4) and random noise is added according to (5). Fig. 3 represents the impulse response with and without averaging and sub-band reconstruction using N = 4 and N = 31 sub-bands for two snr values: average snr (20 dB) and low snr (0 dB). In this figure, it appears that the proposed methods allow effective noise reduction even with N = 4 sub-bands. In the case of very low snr (0 dB), N = 31 sub-bands are required for effective reconstruction of the impulse response associated with s0 mode (first wave packet) and a0 mode (second wave packet) in the given bandwidth, allowing a 47 dB increase of snr, whereas averaging 1000 signals leads to an increase of 30 dB of snr.

Using (10), the Psd of the measurement noise after reconstruction as defined in (17) is therefore bounded by s() 4 h l = Ti 2
2

) ( N 2 1 ) .

III. Experimental application to Group Velocity Estimation and damage detection A. Experimental Setup To apply the sub-band decomposition, group velocity measurement are performed on a 1.54-mm-thick aluminum plate of al-6061 of dimensions 1 1 m, as shown in Fig. 4. For this purpose, a 5-mm-diameter piezoceramic (PIc 255, Physik Instrumente GmbH and co. KG, Karlsruhe, Germany) is bonded at the center of the structure using cyanoacrylate and is used as an actuator. The transverse displacement at different locations is measured by a laser vibrometer (PsV-300, Polytec GmbH, Waldbronn, Germany). The input signals are generated using an arbitrary waveform generator (33120a, agilent Technologies Inc., santa clara, ca) with a sampling frequency of 4 MHz and amplified by a voltage amplifier (Ua-8400, Musilab Inc., drummondville, qc, canada). The acquisition of experimental signals is performed using a labView interface (national Instruments corp., austin, TX) with a highimpedance PcI-5105 12-bit acquisition board (national Instruments corp.). The recorded signal length is 1 ms and the sampling frequency is fixed at 6 MHz. all measurements are averaged 100 times to increase the snr. B. Influence of the Number of Sub-Bands N The proposed approach allows reconstruction of impulse responses in a given bandwidth after measurement of N different signals. In practice, the method thus requires the generation and storage of N signals, which may lead to storage issues if a large number of transducers is required (e.g., up to hundreds for sHM applications). However, the advantage of the proposed method is to reduce excessive averaging, because, from theoretical predictions and ac-

(21)

In (21), and s are the noise Psd using direct impulse response measurement and sub-band decomposition, respectively. The term (h l)/2 represents the attenuation of measurement noise Psd resulting from passband filtering between l and h. The second term 2/(N 1) in (21) represents the decrease of noise Psd resulting from sub-band decomposition. as expected, an increase in the number of sub-bands N tends to reduce the measurement noise, and thus an increase of snr is obtained if N > 3. With respect to impulse response measurement, the increase of snr for the sub-band approach is due to the increase of the generated signal length. Indeed, because the time-window length Ti for each sub-band decomposition is set by (10), the overall measurement window after multiple sub-band generation is T = NTi. In this respect, the sub-band decomposition is equivalent to the chirp method. For instance, for broadband generation between fl = 100 kHz and fh = 1 MHz, a 200-s chirp and sub-band decomposition using N = 10 sub-bands are equivalent in terms of measurement snr. However, the sub-band decomposition allows the perfect reconstruction of impulse response in a given frequency range, such that the amplitude and phase of the input signal over a given frequency range are guaranteed. To evaluate the performance of the proposed approach, synthetic signals obtained using theoretical propagation filter given by [16] have been computed. The structure under consideration is a 1.54-mm-thick aluminum plate whose properties are given in Table I and a 5-mm-diameter circular lead zirconate titanate (PZT) actuator is used. The synthetic displacement at 200 mm is computed for

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Fig. 3. synthetic signal reconstruction between 100 kHz and 1 MHz for different numbers of sub-bands N and different snr conditions: 20 dB (left) and 0 dB (right). The reconstructed synthetic signal are computed for (a) direct impulse response measurement without averaging, (b) direct impulse response measurement with 1000 averaged signals, and for (c) N = 4 and (d) N =31 sub-bands without averaging.

cording to (21), the use of N = 20 sub-bands is equivalent to averaging 1000 signals. In that case, the total acquisition time can be greatly reduced while guaranteeing the measurement snr. Thus, the sub-band number N must be chosen to be as low as possible while allowing acceptable impulse response reconstruction. The influence of the sub-band number N on impulse response reconstruction is examined in the following section. In the present case, an ldV sensor and PZT actuator distance of 200 mm is chosen to obtain well-separated wave packets of up to 1.5 MHz. Fig. 5 presents the reconstructed sensor signals obtained using (8) and the corresponding Fourier transform computed using 1024 points

for different numbers of sub-bands from N = 1 (direct impulse response measurement) to N = 15 (frequency step of 100 kHz between each sub-band). In each case, the central frequency for each component is computed using (9), burst window length is computed using (10), and reconstruction filters are used according to (14). The response obtained in the case of one component N = 1 [Fig. 5(a)] is included as a reference, obtained when a discrete impulse function is directly used as an input signal. The chirp response measured using a T = 100 s chirp input signal defined by (2) is also included [Fig. 5(b)]. In each case, the time-signal amplitudes and Fourier transform magnitudes are normalized.

Fig. 4. Experimental setup used for measurements of broadband signals using a laser doppler vibrometer and lead zirconate titanate (PZT) actuator.

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In Fig. 5, measurement noise is present in the direct measurement of impulse response (N = 1) and the snr associated with this measurement is approximately 20 dB, even with 100 averages. The use of chirp excitation [Fig. 5(b)] allows a reduction of background noise but a change of both time-domain signal and Fourier transform is observed, because of the nature of the input signal. Indeed, the use of a linear chirp does not allow generation of a constant spectrum over the desired bandwidth, such that low-frequency oscillations in the Fourier transform are observed. Moreover, because the input signal possesses a non-constant phase, the different frequency components are generated at different instants, such that high-frequency components are delayed in the time-domain. However, the use of sub-band decomposition [Figs. 5(c)5(e)] allows a reduction of measurement noise even with only N = 4 sub-bands as predicted in Fig. 3, and no changes in either time-domain signals or the associated Fourier transform can be observed compared with the direct impulse re-

sponse measurement. Thus, the proposed method appears to be promising for generation of impulse response and more generally, transient broadband signals. Fig. 6 represents the TF representation of the reconstructed sensor signals of Fig. 5. resTFT with a 60-point Hamming windowing is used in the present analysis. The theoretical curves derived from group velocity calculations using mechanical parameters defined in Table I for 6061al are presented in dotted lines for validation of the obtained results using ToF = d , Vg (22)

where ToF denotes the time-of-flight associated with the considered mode, d is the sensor-to-actuator separation distance, and Vg is the group velocity associated with the considered mode.

Fig. 5. laser doppler vibrometer sensor signal reconstruction up to 1.5 MHz for different numbers of sub-bands N. The (left) reconstructed sensor signals and (right) Fourier transform magnitude are computed for (a) direct impulse response measurement, (b) chirp excitation with a time window of T = 100 s, and for different numbers of sub-bands (c) N = 4, (d) N = 8, and (e) N = 15.

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In Fig. 6, the measurement noise is responsible for a deterioration of ToF analysis. For example, using a direct impulse response (N = 1), a1 and s0 modes are barely distinguishable above 500 kHz, whereas the analysis of ToF for N = 8 and N = 15 reveals the presence of those modes in the considered frequency range. In this specific case, it must be pointed out that the proposed approach allows a reduction of measurement noise, but a minimum of N = 8 signals is required for this purpose. Indeed, even with N = 4 components in the signal reconstruction, the noise reduction above 1 MHz is hardly observed. Thus, N = 15 sub-bands associated with a time-window length of T = 20 s will be used for analysis of propagation properties below 1.5 MHz. C. Application to Group Velocity Estimation In this section, the application of the proposed approach for determination of group velocity is proposed using a PZT actuator and ldV sensor. The influence of the propagation distance on the measurements and the correlation with theoretical predictions is studied. For this purpose, the setup presented in the previous section is used, but the distance between actuator and sensor is gradually decreased from 200 to 50 mm. The impulse response reconstruction is performed using N = 15 components and an input signal length of T = 20 s. The group velocity is then estimated from resTFT plots using (22) and comparison between measurements and theoretical prediction are presented in Fig. 7 for 200, 100, and 50 mm separation distances. In Fig. 7, it appears that the agreement between theoretical and experimental analysis of group velocity is achieved for distances above 100 mm. Indeed, for distance d = 200 mm, the wave packets associated with the s0 and a0 modes are well separated in the time domain and this effect remains valid at d = 100 mm. However, for d = 50 mm, the wave packets associated with s0 and a0 are still well separated below 500 kHz, but for higher frequencies, the discrimination between the packets in the timefrequency representation is no longer possible, such that the validation of propagation properties at close range is not possible. Moreover, at 50 mm, it appears that the s0 mode amplitude decreases for frequencies below 500 kHz because its associated wavelength is 12.5 mm at this frequency and the transverse component associated with this mode is masked by the a0 mode [28]. D. Application to Damage Detection in Pitch-Catch Configuration In this section, application to pitch-catch measurements is presented. For this purpose, the setup is the same as that presented in Fig. 4, except two piezoceramics are used as actuator and sensor with a separation distance of 200 mm. reference pitch-catch measurements are first performed, then holes with varying diameters from 1.5 to 9.9 mm are drilled between the two transducers. nar-

Fig. 6. Time-frequency representation of sensor signals described in Fig. 5 using reassigned short-time Fourier transform for different numbers of sub-bands (a) N = 1, (b) N = 4, (c) N = 8, and (d) N = 15.

rowband measurements are performed using a Hanningwindowed burst of 5.5 cycles at 100, 600, and 1100 kHz and compared with broadband measurements between 50 and 1450 kHz using N = 15 sub-bands. In each case, the variations of rms amplitude of measured signals, defined as the square root of the mean over time of the square of the signals, with respect to the reference case without hole, are computed and presented in Fig. 8. In Fig. 8, the rms amplitude measured using narrowband excitations varies almost linearly with respect to the hole diameter for the three frequency ranges for hole diameters below 5 mm. This could be attributed to the screening effect of the hole because it is drilled in the direct path of the two piezoceramics and this effect only appears when the hole diameter is below the piezoceramic size. In that case, all wavelength components should be attenuated in the same manner observed in Fig. 8. This effect is similar to the one noticed for the transmission

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Fig. 7. Influence of separation distance between the sensor and the actuator on the group velocity estimation. The time-frequency representation of reconstructed laser doppler vibrometer sensor signal using N = 15 sub-bands with an input signal length of Ti = 20 s are compared with theoretical predictions (dotted lines) for separation distances between actuator and sensor of (a) 200 mm, (b) 100 mm, and (c) 50 mm.

across a notched beam in 2-d, where the transmission factor varies almost linearly for all frequencies with respect to the notch depth [29], [30] for both a0 and s0 modes. For hole diameters above the piezoceramic size (5 mm), this screening effect alone cannot explain the dependency of transmitted signal amplitude with respect to the hole size. Indeed, interaction of the guided wave with the hole

and coupling between generated wavelengths and hole size must be taken into account. Previous numerical and experimental studies [11], [12] have shown that the s0 mode is more sensitive to throughholes and that minima in transmitted signal amplitude after propagation of s0 mode through a hole are observed at diameters corresponding to odd multiples of the quarter-wavelength. Indeed, at 600 kHz, the wavelength associated with the s0 mode is 8.8 mm, such that maximal reflection, and thus maximal attenuation should occur at 4.4 and 8.8 mm. Thus, sensitivity to a various hole diameter ranges is expected. Moreover, linear dependency is also observed with respect to the hole diameter, such that determination of hole diameter can be performed using this metric with a relatively good confidence (up to 10% error). When the generated wavelength is larger than the hole diameter, only the screening effect occurs, and the generated guided waves are not sensitive to damages below 10 mm. For example, the wavelength associated with the s0 mode at 100 kHz is approximately 56 mm, such that maximal attenuation should occur for a hole diameter of around 28 mm. When the generated wavelength is below the hole diameter, the presence of the hole in the direct path between actuator and sensor acts as a perfect reflector, and diffraction at the edges of the hole may occur. Thus, at 1100 kHz, variations of rms amplitude are only observed for hole diameters below 5 mm because the generated wavelength, 5.1 mm for the s0 mode, is less than the hole diameter. The use of broadband signals using N = 15 sub-bands combines the different effects induced by the presence of the drilled hole. Indeed, for damage size below 5 mm, the reduction of the rms amplitude of the reconstructed signals can be attributed to screening effect as observed for narrowband signals. For larger hole diameters, the rms amplitude of the reconstructed signal decreases as a result of the sensitivity of guided waves in specific frequency ranges. The linear dependency of the rms amplitude with respect to the hole diameter has no physical meaning, such that this metric is only valid for the specific arrange-

Fig. 8. (left) Experimental setup used in pitch-catch configuration. (right) changes of rms signal amplitude (in percent) with respect to the hole diameter for (a) narrowband excitation signals at 100 kHz (), 600 kHz (open circle), and 1100 kHz (filled circle) and (b) broadband excitation signal using N = 15 sub-bands.

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ment. However, this allows, in the present configuration, a precise estimation of damage size with a fairly good confidence (errors are below 2%) in pitch-catch configuration without any knowledge of the host structure, propagating modes at a given frequency, or wavelengths with respect to the damage size. IV. conclusions In this paper, an approach was proposed for broadband generation of guided waves in structures. The principle is to use a sub-band decomposition to reconstruct the impulse response of the system including host structure and piezoceramic with high snr, using a PZT actuator and an ldV or PZT as sensor. The advantage of the proposed method is that the phase and amplitude are controlled by the use of reconstruction filters, such that precise measurements of impulse response rms amplitude, ToF, and modal amplitude are possible in an extended bandwidth. sub-band reconstruction was first applied to estimation of group velocity for a metallic structure and the influence of number of sub-bands and the sensor-to-actuator separation distance was studied. It was shown that the proposed approach allows impulse response reconstruction with high snr up to 1.5 MHz, whereas direct impulse response measurements are prone to noise that impairs the estimation of ToF. Then, application of the sub-band decomposition to pitch-catch measurements was proposed, allowing damage detection without any knowledge of the host structure, propagating modes at a given frequency, or wavelengths with respect to the damage size. references
[1] c. Farrar and K. Worden, an introduction to structural health monitoring, Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A, vol. 365, no. 1851, pp. 303315, 2007. [2] J. nienwenhui, J. neumann, Jr., d. Greve, and I. oppenheim, Generation and detection of guided waves using PZT wafer transducers, IEEE Trans. Ultrason. Ferroelectr. Freq. Control, vol. 52, no. 11, pp. 21032111, nov. 2005. [3] n. Hu, T. shimomukai, H. Fukunaga, and Z. su, damage identification of metallic structures using a0 mode of lamb waves, Struct. Health Monit., vol. 7, pp. 271285, 2008. [4] n. quaegebeur, P. Micheau, P. Masson, and a. Maslouhi, structural health monitoring strategy for detection of interlaminar delamination in composite plates, Smart Mater. Struct., vol. 19, no. 8, art. no. 085005, 2010. [5] J. Ihn and F. chang, Pitch-catch active sensing methods in structural health monitoring for aircraft structures, Struct. Health Monit., vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 515, 2008. [6] a. Zagrai and V. Giurgiutiu, Electro-mechanical impedance method for crack detection in thin plates, J. Intell. Mater. Syst. Struct., vol. 12, no. 10, pp. 709718, 2001. [7] V. Giurgiutiu, a. Zagrai, and J. Bao, Piezoelectric wafer embedded active sensors for aging aircraft structural health monitoring, Struct. Health Monit., vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 4161, 2002. [8] J. Hall and J. Michaels, Minimum variance ultrasonic imaging applied to an in situ sparse guided wave array, IEEE Trans. Ultrason. Ferroelectr. Freq. Control, vol. 57, no. 10, pp. 23112323, oct. 2010.

[9] n. quaegebeur, P. Masson, d. langlois-demers, and P. Micheau, dispersion-based imaging for structural health monitoring using sparse and compact arrays, Smart Mater. Struct., vol. 20, no. 2, art. no. 025005, 2011. [10] n. Hu, y. liu, y. li, X. Peng, and B. yan, optimal excitation frequency of lamb waves for delamination detection in cFrP laminates, J. Compos. Mater., vol. 44, no. 13, pp. 16431663, 2010. [11] B. c. lee and W. J. staszewski, Modelling of lamb waves for damage detection in metallic structures: Part II. Wave interactions with damage, Smart Mater. Struct., vol. 12, no. 5, pp. 815824, 2003. [12] o. diligent, T. Grahn, a. Bostrm, P. cawley, and M. J. s. lowe, The low-frequency reflection and scattering of the s0 lamb mode from a circular through-thickness hole in a plate: Finite element, analytical and experimental studies, J. Acoust. Soc. Am., vol. 112, no. 6, pp. 25892601, 2002. [13] P. Masson, n. quaegebeur, and d. langlois, a novel imaging technique for sHM using sparse and compact arrays, Proc. SPIE, vol. 7984, art. no. 79840U, 2011. [14] T. Michaels, J. Michaels, s. lee, and X. chen, chirp generated acoustic wavefield imaging, Proc. SPIE, vol. 7984, art. no. 79840J, 2011. [15] l. Wang and F. yuan, Group velocity and characteristic wave curves of lamb waves in composites: Modeling and experiments, Compos. Sci. Technol., vol. 67, no. 78, pp. 13701384, 2007. [16] a. raghavan and c. cesnik, Guided-wave signal processing using chirplet matching pursuits and mode correlation for structural health monitoring, Smart Mater. Struct., vol. 16, no. 2, pp. 355 366, 2007. [17] H. Kuttig, M. niethammer, s. Hurlebaus, and l. Jacobs, Modelbased analysis of dispersion curves using chirplets, J. Acoust. Soc. Am., vol. 119, no. 4, pp. 21222131, apr. 2006. [18] c. Valle and J. littles, Flaw localization using the reassigned spectrogram on laser-generated and detected lamb modes, Ultrasonics, vol. 39, no. 8, pp. 535542, 2002. [19] M. niethammer, l. Jacobs, J. qu, and J. Jarzynski, Time-frequency representations of lamb waves, J. Acoust. Soc. Am., vol. 109, no. 5, pp. 18411847, 2001. [20] a. raghavan and c. cesnik, Finite-dimensional piezoelectric transducer modeling for guided wave based structural health monitoring, Smart Mater. Struct., vol. 14, no. 6, pp. 14481461, 2005. [21] J. Michaels, s. lee, J. Hall, and T. Michaels, Multi-mode and multi-frequency guided wave imaging via chirp excitations, Proc. SPIE, vol. 7984, art. no. 79840I, 2011. [22] M. Petraglia and s. Mitra, adaptive FIr filter structure based on the generalized subband decomposition of FIr filters, IEEE Trans. Circuits Syst. II: Analog Digit. Signal Process., vol. 40, no. 6, pp. 354362, Jun. 1993. [23] s.-H. Jung, s. Mitra, and d. Mukherjee, subband dcT: definition, analysis, and applications, IEEE Trans. Circuits Syst. Video Technol., vol. 6, no. 3, pp. 273286, Jun. 1996. [24] W. lawton, applications of complex valued wavelet transforms to subband decomposition, IEEE Trans. Signal Process., vol. 41, no. 12, pp. 35663568, dec. 1993. [25] P. Masson, a. Berry, and P. Micheau, a wavelet approach to the active structural acoustic control, J. Acoust. Soc. Am., vol. 104, no. 3, pp. 14531466, 1998. [26] J. Woods, Subband Image Coding. norwell, Ma: Kluwer academic, 1990. [27] s. Gorog and P. Micheau, Filter banks implementation of numerical models for vibroacoustic analysis in the medium frequency range, J. Sound Vib., vol. 213, no. 1, pp. 3554, 1998. [28] J. nienwenhui, J. neumann, d. Greve, and I. oppenheim, Generation and detection of guided waves using PZT wafer transducers, IEEE Trans. Ultrason. Ferroelectr. Freq. Control, vol. 52, no. 11, pp. 21032111, 2005. [29] M. J. s. lowe, P. cawley, J.-y. Kao, and o. diligent, The low frequency reflection characteristics of the fundamental antisymmetric lamb wave a0 from a rectangular notch in a plate, J. Acoust. Soc. Am., vol. 112, no. 6, pp. 26122622, 2002. [30] M. J. s. lowe and o. diligent, low-frequency reflection characteristics of the s0 lamb wave from a rectangular notch in a plate, J. Acoust. Soc. Am., vol. 111, no. 1, pt. 1, pp. 6474, 2002.

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Nicolas Quaegebeur obtained his bachelors degree in engineering physics from Ecole nationale de Techniques avances (EnsTa ParisTech, France) and his masters degree from aTIaM (IrcaM, University of Paris & Telecom ParisTech) with specialization in acoustics, signal processing, and informatics applied to music in 2004. He obtained his Ph.d. degree on nonlinear vibrations and acoustic radiation of electrodynamic transducers from Ecole Polytechnique (ParisTech, France) in 2007. He joined the GaUs group at the Universit de sherbrooke for a postdoctoral fellowship on active vibration control in 2008 and on structural health monitoring using guided waves in 2009, before becoming a research assistant in the same group in 2011. His research interests include nonlinear vibrations, advanced signal processing, active vibration control, piezoelectric transducers, guided wave propagation modeling, and structural health monitoring.

Philippe Micheau was born in 1968. He received the masters degree in electrical, electronics, and automation and the Ph.d. degree from the Universite de Poitiers, Poitiers, France, in 1990 and 1995, respectively. In 1993, he was a scientifique du contingent at cETIM, senlis, France. In 1996, he was a postdoctoral fellow at the Universite de sherbrooke, sherbrooke, qc, canada. since 1997, he has been a Professor of Mechatronics in the Mechanical Engineering department, Universite de sherbrooke. He has been doing research on mechatronics applied to total liquid ventilators, structural health monitoring, and active control of vibrations.

Patrice Masson received his bachelors degree in engineering physics and his masters degree in mechanical engineering from cole Polytechnique de Montral, canada, in 1989 and 1991, respectively. He obtained his Ph.d. degree in mechanical engineering from the Universit de sherbrooke, canada, in 1997. In 2000, he became a faculty member in the Mechanical Engineering department of the Universit de sherbrooke, where he is now the director of the acoustics and Vibration Group of the Universit de sherbrooke (GaUs). He has contributed to establish the new curriculum and is teaching the mechatronics courses. Prof. Masson leads or co-leads multi-institutional projects within aUTo21 and the crIaq. His research interests include structural health monitoring, signal processing, smart materials and structures, and active noise and vibration control. Prof. Masson is a member of the acoustical society of america (asa), the society of automotive Engineers (saE), the International society for optical Engineering (sPIE) and the ordre des Ingnieurs du qubec (oIq).

Nezih Mrad is a defense scientist at defense r&d canada (drdc) of the department of national defense and an adjunct professor at carleton University and the University of sherbrooke. He received his Phd. degree in 1995 from The Pennsylvania state University. He also received two Masters degrees, one in applied mathematics and one in mechanical engineering, both from the University of south carolina, in 1987 and 1988, respectively. His expertise includes advanced sensing, wireless sensors and sensor networks, energy harvesting, and rFId sensors. He conducts and manages r&d activities in the emerging fields of cBM, sHM, PHM, microtechnology and nanotechnology, and autonomic logistics applied to aircrafts. He serves on the editorial board of several journals, chairs and serves as a member of national, international, and naTo committees, conferences, and workshops dealing with issues ranging from structures and propulsion systems to nanotechnology.