Monitoring fatigue cracks in riveted plates using a sideband intensity based nonlinear ultrasonic technique

Aluminum structures are routinely used in aircraft due to their lightweight and corrosion resistance properties. Multi-layered aluminum plates are generally joined by rivets forming regions which are prone to fatigue crack formation in an aircraft. Therefore, the detection and monitoring of fatigue cracks at rivet joints in aluminum structures are crucial for ensuring flight safety. In this study, piezoelectric sensors were utilized to generate and detect Lamb waves on aluminum plates with rivet joints to investigate the feasibility of a newly developed Sideband Peak Count (SPC) technique for detecting fatigue cracks around these joints. To overcome the limitations of existing SPC-I (Sideband Peak Count – Index) and SPI (Sideband Peak Intensity) techniques in capturing harmonic and modulating wave frequencies due to material nonlinearity, a comprehensive index, the Sideband Intensity Index (SII) is introduced. Comparative analysis with existing SPC-I and SPI techniques confirm the effectiveness of the SII technique. This investigation shows that the SII technique significantly improves the detection capability of initial fatigue cracks around rivet joints on aluminum plates. This study offers a more efficient method for detecting critical fatigue cracks in rivet joints.