A Multi-Fidelity Convolutional Autoencoder-Transfer Learning Framework for Guided-Wave-Based Damage Diagnosis Using Large Simulated and Limited Experimental Datasets

Guided wave-based structural health monitoring (GWSHM) with onboard transducers offers significant potential for the early diagnosis of damage in engineering structures. However, the practical deployment of deep learning models is often hindered by the limited availability of labelled experimental data and the high computational cost of generating large-scale high-fidelity simulation datasets. This study presents a multifidelity transfer learning framework that integrates lightweight physics-based simulations, convolutional autoencoder (CAE)-based deep feature learning, a feed-forward neural network, and limited experimental measurements for accurate damage localisation and sizing in plate-like structures instrumented with piezoelectric transducers. A computationally efficient one-dimensional time-domain spectral element model is employed to generate a large synthetic dataset for pretraining, while transfer learning adapts the model to experimental domains using only a small amount of labelled data. The CAE-based transfer learning framework significantly outperforms its CNN-based counterpart in damage localisation accuracy. The model achieves excellent predictive performance with R2 scores exceeding 0.93 for damage localisation and 0.99 for damage sizing. Its generalisation capability is demonstrated on previously unseen data, showing high prediction accuracy for damage scenarios not represented during pretraining or fine-tuning. The results establish the proposed framework as an accurate, computationally efficient, and practically viable solution for real-world GWSHM applications.