Monitoring evolution of debris-filled damage using pre-modulated wave and guided wave ultrasonic testing (GWUT)

•Debris-filled damage detection using pre-modulated and guided wave ultrasonic testing (GWUT).•Empirical predictive models for correlating intensity of wave parameter variation with debris-filled damage.•Increase in transmission power efficiency of sidebands signal due to increase in the debris-filled damage percentage.•Cross-correlation of the detrended response and reference signals demonstrated a quick means to spot debris-filled damage.