Spatial resolution improvement for Lamb wave-based damage detection using frequency dependency compensation

In Lamb wave inspection systems, the transfer functions of the transmitter and receiver, and the attenuation as Lamb wave propagates through the structure, result in frequency dependency in the amplitude of Lamb modes. This frequency dependency in amplitude also influences the testing resolution and complicates the damage evaluation. With the goal of spatial resolution improving, a frequency dependency compensation method is proposed. In this method, an accurate estimation of the frequency-dependent amplitude is firstly obtained, then a refined inverse filter is designed and applied to the raw Lamb mode signals to compensate the frequency dependency. An experimental example is introduced to illustrate the process of the proposed method. Besides, its sensitivity to the propagation distance and Taylor expansion order is thoroughly investigated. Finally, the proposed method is employed for damage detection. Its effectiveness in testing resolution improvement and damage identification could be obviously demonstrated by the imaging result of the damage.