Numerical Analysis of Two-Dimensional Waveguide Patches for Surface Damage Detection

A novel method for damage detection in metallic structures has been introduced recently based on the concept of jointed electromagnetic waveguides. Here, the electromagnetic waveguide is formed by an open waveguide placed on top of the host structure to be inspected. Electromagnetic waves propagating in the waveguide interact sensitively with a structural damage leading to changes in the scattering parameters. The main goal of the present paper is the numerical analysis of two-dimensional waveguide patches in the frequency band from 2 GHz to 8GHz. A parametric numerical analysis has been performed for through holes at different positions and for holes with different diameters.