Crack detection in lossy two-dimensional structures by means of a microwave imaging approach

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Caorsi, Salvatore^a | Massa, Andrea^b | Pastorino, Matteo^c | Righini, Fabio^c

Affiliations: [a] Department of Electronics, University of Pavia, Via Ferrata 1, 27100 Pavia, Italy. Tel.: +39 382 505661; Fax: +39 382 422583; E-mail: caorsi@ele.unipv.it | [b] Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Trento, Via Mesiano 77, 38050 Trento, Italy. Tel.: +39 461 882623; Fax: +39 461 882672; E-mail: andrea.massa@ing.unitn.it | [c] Department of Biophysical and Electronic Engineering, University of Genoa, Via Opera Pia 11/A, 16145 Genoa, Italy. Tel.: +39 10 3532796; Fax: +39 10 3532245; E-mail: pastorino@dibe.unige.it

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to present a microwave imaging approach for the determination of the position, the orientation and dimensions of a crack located inside a lossy dielectric host medium. The inversion procedure is based on a genetic algorithm which allows to iteratively generate a sequence of trial solutions minimizing a suitable cost function. The dependence of the performances of the proposed microwave imaging approach on the conductivity value of the host medium is checked. Moreover, the robustness of the algorithm to operate with noisy data is evaluated. Finally, the reconstruction of an irregular crack is considered.

DOI: 10.3233/JAE-2000-203

Journal: International Journal of Applied Electromagnetics and Mechanics, vol. 11, no. 4, pp. 233-244, 2000