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Development of Integrated MEasurement Systems

Project description

Innovative integrated testing methods for passenger aircraft

Monitoring damage in passenger aircraft is enhanced by a new philosophy which uses the disturbance to the strain field in the structure caused by the damage to identify significant damage and track its spread. Recently, the CS2 project INSTRUCTIVE demonstrated this method by using infrared technology, showing it to be more capable of identifying small cracks in metallic structures than any other available technique. The EU-funded DIMES project has developed an innovative integrated testing system to detect a crack or delamination in a metallic or composite structure. The project combined these innovative methods with established techniques to demonstrate an integrated testing method on passenger aircraft structures.

Objective

The aim of the project is to develop advanced integrated testing methods that have the capability to detect a crack or delamination in a metallic or composite structure and have the potential to be deployed as part of an on-board structural health monitoring system for passenger aircraft. The proposal incorporates a new philosophy for monitoring damage in which the disturbance to the strain field in the structure caused by the damage is used to identify significant damage and to track its propagation. Recently, this approach has been demonstrated to be at least as effective in composite structures as traditional non-destructive evaluation techniques and, in CS2 project INSTRUCTIVE using infrared technology, it has been shown to be capable of identifying smaller cracks in metallic structures than any other available technique. In this project, it is proposed to amalgamate these innovations with more established techniques, such as strain gauges and acoustic emission, and to demonstrate an integrated testing method. The objectives are designed to mature technologies from TRL 4 to 6 that are likely to have a disruptive impact on the structural health monitoring of next generation large passenger aircraft The objectives are: i) to develop a robust and innovative concept for integrating a diverse set of sensors and data acquisition systems for detecting and monitoring damage in an aircraft assembly; ii) to produce an integrated system of sensors and data acquisition systems deployed on a test bench representing an aircraft assembly, and; iii) to conduct prototype demonstration and evaluation tests of the integrated system and test bench using independent systems. The primary outcome will be the demonstration, on a test bench consisting of an aircraft assembly, of an integrated measurement system for ‘on-line’ detecting and monitoring damage based on a diverse range of sensor systems.

Coordinator

THE UNIVERSITY OF LIVERPOOL
Net EU contribution
€ 505 936,25
Address
BROWNLOW HILL 765 FOUNDATION BUILDING
L69 7ZX Liverpool
United Kingdom

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Region
North West (England) Merseyside Liverpool
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
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Total cost
€ 505 936,25

Participants (3)