Optical fibre based sensors application to structural health monitoring in composite materials

Abstract

Structural health monitoring (SHM) by means of embedded fibre optic (FO) sensors is able to perform diagnosis and prognosis of structural damages and defects. SHM system monitor structural status based on the acquired data resulting in the detection and characterization of damages and defects without necessity for the aircraft to be on ground. Optical fibre sensors are permanently installed in the structure and trigger maintenance actions only when a damage or defect of a particular size is detected. To demonstrate the potential of FO sensors technology and their application by means of embedded sensors to composite material aerostructures, manufacturing trials have been performed and the influence in mechanical behaviour of the sensors’ embedding has been studied by performing tests campaings, at coupon level, for experimental validation. This study is within the scope of SHERLOC, a project belonging to the Clean Sky 2 JU aeronautical research and development program, and of which main objective is to combine advanced Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) and smart repair technologies with a probabilistic design philosophy, and hence to develop new maintenance concepts to reduce the direct operative costs without lowering the operational safety of a composite fuselage.