Abstract

In this paper, a damage imaging algorithm based on fractal dimension is developed for quantitative damage detection of composite structures. Box-counting dimension, a typical fractal dimension, is employed to analyze the difference of Lamb wave signals, extract damage feature and define damage index. An enhanced reconstruction algorithm for probabilistic inspection of damage is developed for damage imaging. Experimental investigation in a composite laminate and a stiffened composite panel shows that the developed algorithm could quantitatively predict the location and size of not only single but also multiple damages. The influence of parameters in the developed algorithm on the imaging quality and accuracy is studied, and reference values for parameters are presented.