Abstract. In this work, an experimental approach for the identification of through thickness cracks in piezoelectric materials is presented, where the electric potential on the surface of the PZT elements was measured at different locations before and after the crack was introduced. A damage index (DI) was defined, based on the amount of change in electrical potential between the intact and damaged states, which was later used to develop an algorithm for identifying and assessing cracks in a PZT element under a time harmonic load. Cracks of different lengths, depths and orientation were successfully identified.
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