A Comparative Study of Wave Excitation in Plates Using Piezoelectric Transducers Operating at Different Modes

Structural health monitoring (SHM) and damage detection techniques have recently gained attention in various fields of engineering for preventing catastrophic failures. Among different SHM techniques, Lamb wave propagation methods are widely used as these waves can propagate large distance from a single source. Piezoelectric (PZT) transducers are used here as actuators and sensors to generate and receive wave signals. Most of the studies conducted on wave propagation in plates are by use of conventional d31 mode piezoelectric transducer. However, so far very few studies have been done using other types of PZT transducers. The primary objective of this paper is to determine and study the wave responses in a thin plate using different types of PZT transducers. The results indicate that the d31 and d33 type transducers generate Lamb waves, whereas d24 and d15 type transducers generate shear horizontal waves in two orthogonal directions. The study indicates that each of the transducers has its own directional property. The present study will be helpful for the application of Lamb waves and shear horizontal waves in plate structures