ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT: The procedure presented serves for an automatic large-area monitoring of steel structures by means of non-destructive testing. Piezoceramic members are applied as a cluster to the structure under observation. These elements are used both as sensors and as actuators and initiate guided wave propagation in the structure. Damages are detected by the changed structural response. Beside other methods of signal processing the principle of beamforming is used with the sensor signals. The example of a 6 mm steel plate shows the sensitivity of the developed procedure for damage detection.
