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Virginia Tech

Crack Detection in Aluminum Structures

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

Structural health monitoring (SHM) is the process of using measurements of a structure's response to known excitations and trying to determine if damage has occurred to the structure. This also fits the description of non-destructive evaluation (NDE). The main difference is that NDE takes place while the structure is out of service and SHM is intended to take place while the structure is in service. As such, SHM provides the opportunity to provide early warning against structural failure. This thesis intends to advance the state of the art in SHM by examining two approaches to SHM: vibration based and impedance based, and to associate these with the NDE method of stress intensity factors. By examining these methods the goal is to try and answer some of the important questions in SHM process. The first is to experimentally validate a crack model and to see how small of a crack can be detected by vibration methods. The second is to use the concept of stress intensity factor to perform an SHM type of measurement to determine the remaining life of a structure once the impedance method has determined that damage has occurred. The measurement system considered consists of using several different piezoceramic materials as self-sensing actuators and sensors. The structures are a simple beam and a more complex lug element used in aircraft applications. The approach suggested here is to use the impedance and vibration methods to detect crack initiation and then to use the proposed stress intensity method to measure the stress intensity factor of the structure under consideration.

Degree

thesis:*
Name thesis:degree_name
Master of Science
Level thesis:degree_level
masters
Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
Mechanical Engineering
Department dc:contributor.department
Mechanical Engineering
Grantor dc:publisher
Virginia Tech
Year dc:date.issued
2010

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Butrym, Brad A.
Chair dc:contributor.committeechair
  • Inman, Daniel J.
Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember
  • Kasarda, Mary E.
  • Kim, Myung Hyun

Subjects

dc:subject × 5

Rights

dc:rights
Statement dc:rights
  • In Copyright

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Dc Identifier Other
etd-05062010-124039
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/32276

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
Virginia Tech
Base URL
vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request
Last updated
2026-07-22
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

Butrym, Brad A.. Crack Detection in Aluminum Structures. masters thesis, Virginia Tech, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/32276