Wave propagation and transduction of guided waves for non-destructive evaluation, structural health monitoring and biomedical applications

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This research program will deliver highly innovative techniques using guided waves in (1) non-destructive testing, (2) structural health monitoring and (3) biomedical engineering. These innovations will be achieved through fundamental research on guided wave propagation and the development of novel transduction methods. Guided waves are a type of mechanical stress wave that propagate in elongated structures when the wavelength is comparable to one of the dimensions of the structure. As a result of a decade-long research effort from the scientific community, guided waves are now routinely used to screen large areas of pipes and other elongated structures for cracks, corrosion and other types of defects. Through fundamental research on the propagation of guided waves and innovations in instrumentation, a pioneering technique for thickness mapping of large, partially accessible plate-like structures will be delivered. The petrochemical industry has a keen interest in such a technique for the inspection of their pressure vessels and pipelines. In structural health monitoring, transducers are permanently installed on a structure in order to periodically examine it for damage and provide information about any damage that is detected. Guided waves have emerged as a prominent option as they can offer good estimates for the location, severity and types of damage. Low frequency shear horizontal waves are particularly interesting for this application because they are non-dispersive. However, the omnidirectional transduction required in structural health monitoring remains a challenge that this research program will overcome. The third area of application is medical use of guided waves. Although ultrasound is a well-established tool in medical imaging, the use of guided waves in biomedical engineering is still in its infancy. An aspect of this research program is to study the propagation of guided waves outside the non-destructive testing field. The propagation of guided waves in bones has already been studied but more research is required in order to use it as a tool for the detection of osteoporosis. However, the propagation of guided waves in the spinal cord is still unexplored and could lead to exciting applications to help orthopaedic surgeons and neurosurgeons evaluate spinal cord injuries.