Parameter identification of crack-like notches in aluminum plates based on strain gauge data

The identification of crack parameters and stress intensity factors in aluminum plates under tensile loading is in the focus of the presented research. In this regard, data of strain gauges, distributed along the edges of the samples, are interpreted. In the experiments, slit-shaped notches take the role of cracks located in the interior of the specimens. Their positions, inclinations and lengths as well as the magnitudes of external loadings are identified solving the inverse problems of cracked plates and associated strain fields. Exploiting the powerful approach of distributed dislocations, based on Green’s functions provided by the framework of linear elasticity, in conjunction with a genetic algorithm, allows for a very efficient identification of the sought parameters, thus being suitable for in situ monitoring of engineering structures. Tested samples exhibit one or two straight crack-like notches as well as a kinked one.