Simulation of piezoelectric guided wave propagation characteristics in multilayer heterogeneous structures for aerospace vehicles

To address the urgent demand for active guided wave damage monitoring of multilayer heterogeneous structures of aerospace vehicles under complex service conditions, we conduct a simulation study on piezoelectric guided waves in multilayer heterogeneous structures. By establishing a high-precision simulation model of multi-physics field coupling, the propagation characteristics and attenuation laws of guided waves in multilayer heterogeneous structures are revealed, which provides a design basis for the implementation of guided wave monitoring methods. Firstly, a multi-physics field coupling finite element model considering material attenuation characteristics is established, and the attenuation effect of viscoelastic layers on guided waves is simulated by Rayleigh damping. Secondly, the meshing strategy of multilayer heterogeneous structures is optimized to balance the calculation accuracy and efficiency. Experimental verification shows that the proposed method accurately simulates the attenuation behavior and propagation phase of guided waves, significantly improving the simulation accuracy. After introducing the damping model, the amplitude attenuation errors of S₀ and A₀ modes in the structure are reduced from 122.3% and 78.1% to 3.4% and 3.6% respectively; the mesh optimization reduces the element degrees of freedom by 66.6% while keeping the phase error within 0.6%. This research provides a high-precision simulation method and theoretical basis for damage monitoring of aerospace multilayer heterogeneous structures, which has important engineering value for ensuring the safe service of aerospace vehicles.