An automated on-board structural health monitoring system (SHMS) for military aircraft promises significant benefits including reduced life cycle costs, improved survivability, and reduced turnaround times. However, current sensors and sensing technologies are not fully matured to develop such a system. This paper presents an assessment of the most promising current sensor and sensing technologies applicable to an aircraft SHMS. The assessment is based upon the work performed under an on-going joint Air Force/Navy contract awarded to Northrop and entitled `Smart Structures Concept Requirements Definition' (SSCORE). The overall objective of the SSCORE program is to develop an ideal SHMS architecture applicable to an aerospace vehicle, establish its feasibility and benefits, assess current technologies and identify technology gaps, develop a first generation system based on current technologies, and demonstrate SHMS concepts. The assessment was made by evaluating the capabilities of the sensors and sensing technologies against the required capabilities of a smart SHMS. The SHMS requirements are driven by the integrity requirements and the geometric complexity of the structure being monitored, the availability of space in the structure for sensor attachment, and the expected type of damage. An overall assessment of SHMS concepts are presented in a companion paper.


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    Title :

    Sensors and sensing technologies for structural health monitoring of aircraft


    Contributors:

    Conference:

    Smart Structures and Materials 1993: Smart Structures and Intelligent Systems ; 1993 ; Albuquerque,NM,United States


    Published in:

    Publication date :

    1993-09-08





    Type of media :

    Conference paper


    Type of material :

    Electronic Resource


    Language :

    English



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