Experimental and numerical study on damage detection in an L-joint using guided wave propagation

Longitudinal and flexural wave propagation in a steel L-joint is considered in this paper. Particular attention is paid to damage detection aspects. Experimental investigations were conducted on an intact L-joint as well as on an L-joint with a notch. Velocity time histories of elastic waves propagation have been applied to find the location of damage. To model longitudinal as well as flexural wave propagation including lateral and shear deformations, the special frame spectral element in the time domain, based on the Mindlin–Herrmann rod and Timoshenko beam theories, was formulated. As a result this paper discusses in detail the possibility of detection of damage in an L-joint and it compares the usefulness of the application of axial and flexural waves in non-destructive damage detection for this typical structural component.