A Model-Assisted Approach to Sensor Network Design in Guided Wave Based SHM Systems

Sensor network design and reliability assessment are critical aspects to achieve an effective guided wave based SHM system especially in composite materials. The detection capability of a SHM system exceedingly depends on its sensor network layout. Besides, Probability of Detection (POD) method is most common assessment method among few in use which requires vast amount of experimental data for each sensor network layout. Due to impracticality of repetitive experimenting, Model-Assisted Probability of Detection (MAPOD) applications attract interest recently with the help of efficient simulation tools. However, MAPOD studies requires thousands of simulations for each sensor network placement setup as well. In this contribution, to form a sensor placement while decreasing the simulation effort, a method called Sensitivity Analysis is proposed. The methods are based upon the idea of measuring maximum energy density coverage over the specimen to evaluate higher possibility of damage interaction while solving a high frequency approximation or energy accumulation with minimal cost, respectively. Demonstration case will be evaluated for an anisotropic composite component. The paper presents determination of sensor layout and validation with the comparison of well studied MAPOD simulations by using the Elastodynamic Finite Integration Technique (EFIT).