Impact Localization of Complex Structures Based on Akaike Information Criterion

The thermal protection structure of the aircraft is often impacted by foreign objects which will generate stress waves in the structure. To locate these impacts, the time of arrival (TOA) is commonly used with the localization algorithm to locate these impacts. However, due to the complex propagation characteristics of impact stress waves in thermal protection structures (TPS), traditional time-frequency signal processing methods are often inaccurate for the extraction of TOA. In this paper, the TOA of the impact wave was extracted accurately by using the Akaike information criterion (AIC). In addition, a fuzzy algorithm was developed by combining TOA with the cross-correlation function. In this paper, the PZT sensor was used to detect the impact signal of the curved TPS, and the experimental verification is further carried out. The positioning results showed the accuracy and reliability of the algorithm.