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. 2025 Jan 30;25(3):838.
doi: 10.3390/s25030838.

Numerical Analysis of Crack Path Effects on the Vibration Behaviour of Aluminium Alloy Beams and Its Identification via Artificial Neural Networks

Hilal Doğanay Katı  1   2 , Jamilu Buhari  1 , Arturo Francese  1 , Feiyang He  1 , Muhammad Khan  1
Affiliations

Numerical Analysis of Crack Path Effects on the Vibration Behaviour of Aluminium Alloy Beams and Its Identification via Artificial Neural Networks

Hilal Doğanay Katı et al. Sensors (Basel). .

Abstract

Understanding and predicting the behaviour of fatigue cracks are essential for ensuring safety, optimising maintenance strategies, and extending the lifespan of critical components in industries such as aerospace, automotive, civil engineering and energy. Traditional methods using vibration-based dynamic responses have provided effective tools for crack detection but often fail to predict crack propagation paths accurately. This study focuses on identifying crack propagation paths in an aluminium alloy 2024-T42 cantilever beam using dynamic response through numerical simulations and artificial neural networks (ANNs). A unified damping ratio of the specimens was measured using an ICP® accelerometer vibration sensor for the numerical simulation. Through systematic investigation of 46 crack paths of varying depths and orientations, it was observed that the crack propagation path significantly influenced the beam's natural frequencies and resonance amplitudes. The results indicated a decreasing frequency trend and an increasing amplitude trend as the propagation angle changed from vertical to inclined. A similar trend was observed when the crack path changed from a predominantly vertical orientation to a more complex path with varying angles. Using ANNs, a model was developed to predict natural frequencies and amplitudes from the given crack paths, achieving a high accuracy with a mean absolute percentage error of 1.564%.

Keywords: artificial neural networks (ANNs); crack identification; crack path; natural frequency and amplitude.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Specimen dimensions.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Crack path schematic. Yellow lines represent the possible crack paths.
Figure 3
Figure 3
(a) Geometry meshing; (b) Red label and arrow line represent the amplitude measurement location and the applied force.
Figure 3
Figure 3
(a) Geometry meshing; (b) Red label and arrow line represent the amplitude measurement location and the applied force.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Experimental setup for the damping ratio measurement.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Comparison of FRF curves of the intact beam.
Figure 6
Figure 6
ANN architecture in a simplified form.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Modal frequency and amplitude change with the crack depth. Average values are calculated for different crack profiles with the same crack depth.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Two different crack paths with the same start–end point schematic.
Figure 9
Figure 9
Inclined segment position influences the modal behaviour of the crack path ending at F2. (a). First mode frequency. (b). First mode amplitude.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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