Application of Lamb waves for the characterization of composite plates

In order to detect and evaluate flaws in thin composite structures, such as skins on aircraft wings or sail boat bodies, Lamb waves are the preferred tool of ultrasonic excitation. In the framework of a European Brite EuRam project, we have been involved in the problem of damage assessment in smart composite plates. Our goal is to predict the system signature and to identify optimal signal extraction routines. Given the wave frequency, thickness and physical properties of the materials, we simulate, using the Local Interaction Simulation Approach (LISA), the propagation of Lamb waves in carbon fiber reinforced plates and their interaction with defects and compare the numerical results with the experimental data.