Using the DIC Technique in Damage Detection for a Cantilevered Composite Beam

The subject of the article is the use of the Digital Image Correlation (DIC) technique in tests of damage detection in a composite cantilevered beam. Laboratory tests of the beam were conducted using the Q-400 system from Dantec Dynamics GmbH. The research aimed to study the behaviour of the structure under external forces and to analyse the influence of cross-section damage on the displacement field of the beam. The analysed quantities were also the changes in strain fields of the structure. For the laboratory model, the finite element models were prepared, and satisfactory compliance in terms of displacement fields between numerical and laboratory models for undamaged structure was obtained. The research has shown, that it is possible to indicate the approximate location of damage based on the information about changes in the displacement field.