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Aircraft Integrated Structural Health Assessment (AISHA)

Objective

The safe use of complex engineering structures such as aircrafts can only be guaranteed when efficient means of damage assessment are in place. Whereas aircraft design is nowadays based on a damage tolerance approach and time based inspection cycles, it is envisaged that the large cost associated with this approach can be drastically reduced by switching to a condition based maintenance schedule. This does require continuous health monitoring capabilities using integrated sensing technology and autonomous damage assessment.

This project aims at realising a breakthrough in aircraft health monitoring technology by exploring the capabilities of ultrasonic Lamb waves as the basic sensing principle and by providing an integrated and multidisciplinary research path. Both active and passive (acoustic emission) Lamb wave inspection will be explored, using the innovative concept of selective and tunable multimode wave generation/reception. Novel sensors/actuators will be developed which not only provide tunable properties, but also potential for integration into aircraft structures.

A specific research action will be devoted to structural integration of sensors/actuators. An extensive testing program using multiple materials and loading conditions will be devoted to the establishment of quantitative correlations between monitoring signals and the extent of damage. This information, combined with the development of autonomous signal analysis routines and adequate models for remaining lifetime prediction, will ultimately be used in a full scale testing action during which the possibilities for large scale application of the developed technologies will be explored.

A dissemination and demonstration action will be part of the workplan. To ensure a succesful achievement of the project, a consortium with a multidisciplinary expertise has been formed, with contributions from high tech SMEs, research groups, end users and a certification laboratory.

Call for proposal

FP6-2002-AERO-1
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Funding Scheme

Data not available

Coordinator

METALOGIC N.V. A.I. TECHNOLOGIES & ENGINEERING
EU contribution
No data
Address
GELDENAAKSEBAAN 329
3001 HEVERLEE
Belgium

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Total cost
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Participants (2)