Piezoelectric-actuator excited-wave field solutions for guided-wave structural health monitoring

This work addresses the 3-D elasticity modeling of the guided wave (GW) fields excited by piezoelectric actuators in various configurations for isotropic structures. First, a general derivation for the GW field excited by an arbitrary shape, finite dimension, and surface-bonded piezo actuator in isotropic plates is presented. This is then used to generate solutions for the specific cases of ring-shaped and rectangular piezo actuators and rectangular Macro Fiber Composite actuators. An expression for the response of a piezo-sensor in a GW field is developed. Experimental verification supporting the model is provided. Excellent correlation is found between theoretical and experimental results.