Comparative study of electro mechanical impedance (EMI) technique and lambwave technique for fatigue crack detection in metallic structures

• Main Author: Tan, Pei Wen.
• Other Authors: Soh Chee Kiong
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2012
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering::Civil engineering::Structures and design; DRNTU::Engineering::Materials::Functional and smart materials
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/49279
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Fatigue cracks are progressive and localised cracks that are caused by repeating loadings usually smaller than the design strength. These cracks may look harmless but they could cause catastrophic failure they are being discovered and rectified. Back in the olden days, fatigue crack can only be detected through visual inspection. However, it is difficult to detect cracks in big structures by visual inspection and these cracks would slowly propagate and grow into big cracks. With improved technology, Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) can make use of smart materials to examine the integrity of large structures. Any fatigue cracks that cannot be discovered by visual inspection used in the past can be detected and even monitored using this new developing technology.