Shuai Zhou, a doctoral student from Shanghai Jiao Tong University Global College (SJTUGC, abbreviated as GC), has won the First Prize for Best Student Paper at the 2026 SPIE Smart Structures + NDE Conference held in Vancouver, Canada recently. The conference was organized by the International Society for Optics and Photonics (abbreviated as SPIE).
Zhou received the award for his paper titled “Anisotropic Characteristics of Zero-Group-Velocity Guided Waves in Carbon Fiber Composite Plates.” Yanfeng Shen, Associate Professor at GC, is the corresponding author of the paper.
Shuai Zhou presents his research finding at the SPIE Smart Structures + NDE Conference
Carbon fiber composite materials are widely used in advanced engineering fields such as aerospace due to their superior mechanical performance. However, under complex service conditions, internal defects such as matrix cracking and delamination may develop and remain difficult to detect from the surface, posing risks to structural safety. Ultrasonic guided wave technology has been widely applied for large-scale inspection, yet its effectiveness in composite materials is limited by high damping and anisotropic properties, which lead to complex attenuation and scattering of wave signals.
To address this challenge, the research team investigated the anisotropic propagation characteristics of zero-group-velocity (ZGV) guided wave modes in carbon fiber composite plates. At specific frequencies, ZGV modes can generate localized energy concentration near the excitation source, producing strong resonance and enhancing the interaction between acoustic waves and micro-scale defects.
By integrating a semi-analytical finite element method with three-dimensional simulations, the team identified the variation of ZGV frequencies with respect to wave propagation direction and revealed a broadband resonance phenomenon induced by anisotropy. The study clarifies the directional dependence of ZGV frequencies in composite materials and provides a basis for improving the sensitivity of micro-damage detection and structural health monitoring technologies.
Shuai Zhou receiving the award at the SPIE Smart Structures + NDE Conference
Shuai Zhou with Professor Yanfeng Shen at the SPIE conference
Author Profile
Shuai Zhou is a Ph.D. student at GC enrolled in 2024, specializing in structural health monitoring of composite materials using ultrasonic guided waves. As first author, he has published research findings at leading international conferences, including those organized by the ASME and SPIE.
Advisor Profile
Yanfeng Shen is Deputy Party Secretary and Associate Dean for Research at GC, as well as a tenured associate professor and doctoral supervisor. He is a recipient of the Shanghai Rising-Star Program for Young Scientists and the Achenbach Medal in the field of structural health monitoring. His research focuses on theoretical methods and applications in structural health monitoring and nondestructive evaluation. He has led multiple national and provincial research projects and published more than 40 journal papers and over 80 conference papers. He serves as Associate Editor for Structural Health Monitoring — An International Journal, Journal of Nondestructive Evaluation, ASME Journal of Nondestructive Evaluation, Diagnostics and Prognostics of Engineering Systems, and as an editorial board member of Ultrasonics. He has received international awards, including Best Paper Awards at ASME international conferences and journal paper awards from ASME. He has supervised multiple students who have won international conference paper awards.
