Patent ID: 7672793

Claim:
A method for calculating the probable damage size in a structure monitored by a structural health monitoring (SHM) system, the method comprising: defining a configuration of an array of transducers mounted on the structure, wherein corresponding pairs of transducers of the array comprise an actuator and a sensor, and wherein each corresponding pair of transducers defines a propagation path in the structure extending between the two transducers; identifying, using at least said array of transducers all propagation paths that are affected by being touched by a damage to the structure, wherein all propagation paths that are untouched are thereby unaffected by the damage; determining a range of sizes of the damage; calculating a probability density of the damage versus damage size on the basis of the transducer array configuration and the affected and unaffected propagation paths identified; finding a most probable damage size on the basis of the probability density; and, determining the probability of the damage being greater or less than the most probable damage size on the basis of the probability density.