Source and defect localization in thin elastic plates of arbitrary geometry using eigenmodes

In this paper, we experimentally demonstrate how discrete resonances can be used to image acoustic sources and mechanical changes in thin plates with different boundary shapes. The proposed method uses coupled numerical and experimental data processing, and it only requires the knowledge of the sample geometry (and not its elastic properties). If a limited number of measurement points is available in experiments, the free modes of the plates are not orthogonal from the receivers’ point of view, and this induces an artificial coupling in the post-processing of the experimental signals. However, we show that this effect can be corrected using numerical simulations and a mathematical transformation of the antenna geometry. After this correction, imaging of active sources is performed using coherent summation of the elastic field over the natural frequencies of the plates, leading to an unique localization of the sources. Imaging mechanical changes in the two plates, instead, is addressed using incoherent summation over the modes, leading to symmetry problems for the plates. This work experimentally illustrates the spatial resolution, perspectives and limitations in the use of eigenmodes to produce images in complex elastic systems of arbitrary shape and materials.