Laser-Based Guided Wave Propagation and Mode Decomposition in Detecting the Integrity of Structural I-Beams

This paper addresses the studies carried out on an I-beam to reveal the wave propagation characteristics and tackle the multi-mode propagation of Lamb waves. The experimental setup consisted of a new 3D Scanning Laser Doppler Vibrometer manufactured by Polytec (3D-SLDV) and was used to acquire high resolution time-space Lamb waves that were propagating in the I-beam. A high power and pulsed Nd:YAG laser was used to emit the required Lamb waves. The emission and sensing of the waves were carried out simultaneously. The wave propagation data was recorded by scanning the surface of the I-beam in a sequential manner. The measured data was used to construct the wave patterns that were propagating in the I-beams at different time instants. Furthermore, as the waves in an I-Beam propagate with multiple modes even at low frequency range, filtering was carried out in the frequency-wavenumber domain in order to decompose the modes. The results presented thereby confirm that the new 3D-SLDV possesses tremendous capability in revealing the wave propagation characteristics and its interaction with defect. The results could be the first time that the waves propagating in a real I-beam can be visually observed, whilst in the past, it can only be visualized through simulation. The capability of using such totally laser-based 3D inspection system to reveal the characteristics of Lamb wave and its interaction with defects are substantial.