This paper presents a part of the research results on a damage monitoring system using PZT actuators/FBG sensors for advanced composite material structures of new-generation aircrafts. To achieve weight reduction of the aircraft structure, these advanced composite materials have gradually been employed for the primary structure. It is expected that when these materials are extensively employed, an efficient bonded structure such as a hat-shaped stringer will be utilized for the aircraft structure. However, these bonded structures have critical problems such as debonding and delamination at the interfaces of the laminate. Further, a single-step molding process of the structure elements is necessary in order to ensure low cost and thus affordability. However, this low-cost process results in an increase in the non-destructive inspection (NDI) cost. Therefore, an innovative damage monitoring system is required for structural health management. In the present study, the authors have developed a hybrid sensor system that can detect the elastic waves launched from the piezo transducer (PZT) actuator using a high-speed and high-accuracy fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensor to resolve the issues mentioned above. In this study, the conceptual design of an aircraft that can employ this damage monitoring system was carried out. Subsequently, the application area was selected based on cases of certain kinds of damage. Further, the validity of the damage monitoring system for the verification of the structural integrity of the aircraft was discussed. Next, in order to verify the elastic wave detectability of the FBG sensor, it was confirmed that an elastic wave of 300 kHz is detectable at a distance of 5 cm between the PZT actuator and FBG sensor using an aluminum sheet and CFRP cross-ply laminate and also by considering the relationship between sensor length and sensitivity. Through the present research results, the possibility of applying the damage monitoring system to the composite material bonding structure in an aircraft is presented.

Date Published: 29 July 2004
PDF: 12 pages
Proc. SPIE 5388, Smart Structures and Materials 2004: Industrial and Commercial Applications of Smart Structures Technologies, (29 July 2004); doi: 10.1117/12.539727

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 5388:
Smart Structures and Materials 2004: Industrial and Commercial Applications of Smart Structures Technologies
Eric H. Anderson, Editor(s)