Impact damage detection in composite chiral sandwich panels using nonlinear vibro-acoustic modulations

This paper reports an application of nonlinear acoustics to impact damage detection in a composite chiral sandwich panel. The panel is built from a chiral honeycomb and two composite skins. High-frequency ultrasonic excitation and low-frequency modal excitation were used to observe nonlinear modulations in ultrasonic waves due to structural damage. Low-profile, surface-bonded piezoceramic transducers were used for ultrasonic excitation. Non-contact laser vibrometry was applied for ultrasonic sensing. The work presented focuses on the analysis of the modulation intensities and damage-related nonlinearities. The paper demonstrates that the method can be used for impact damage detection in composite chiral sandwich panels.