At present, composite materials and smart structures exhibiting enhanced properties are used extensively in numerous engineering applications, such as aerospace and wind energy industries, civil construction, etc. Investigation of ultrasonic wave phenomena in complex composite structures is among the topical problems in the mechanics of composites, with a variety of applications. In large part, this relates to the fundamentals of wave-based nondestructive evaluation and structural health monitoring aiming at early-stage damage detection and material condition evaluation. Another up-to-date topic being inspired by complex wave phenomena in inhomogeneous waveguides is the design of a novel class of composite materials, the so-called phononic crystals and acoustic metamaterials, which provide unusual elastodynamic properties and allow manipulating ultrasonic wave propagation. For these and for many other cases, studies of dynamic behavior of complex three-dimensional composite materials remain a topical issue. As a prime step in understanding and analysis of complex wave phenomena in smart composite materials, efficient and accurate mathematical models and numerical simulation tools are required which are suitable for fast parametric studies at the development stage or for the implementation in real electromechanical devices and systems. In particular, they should take into account peculiarities of material microstructures, coupled mechanical and electrical fields, complex shapes of sensors and transducers, as well as wave scattering by localized or distributed inhomogeneities. Such simulation problems are often very complex and cannot be treated efficiently with simple analytical or conventional numerical tools, inspiring, therefore, the development of advanced computational methods for 3D wave dynamic problems. Another challenging aspect of wave phenomenon studies relates to experimental techniques for wave excitation, detection, and visualization in complex composite and smart structures. Their advancement is important for the adjustment of the developed simulation models, verification of theoretical results, and enhancement of our understanding of wave-related physics.
Keywords: Composites; Simulation; Numerical analysis; Wave propagation; Computational mechanics; Elastic/acoustic metamaterials and phononic crystals; Experimental studies; Structural health monitoring; Nondestructive evaluation.