CATEC Advanced Center for
CATEC
Innovation & Technology

Structural Health Monitoring system to prevent damage in aerostructures and reduce maintenance costs


July 31st 2015

This technology allows monitoring, either in flight or scheduled maintenance, the damage generated in a structure, leading to the possibility of making changes or actions to correct it


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Structural Health Monitoring system to prevent damage in aerostructures and reduce maintenance costs
Our Center has a Structural Health Monitoring system which allows to increase security against failure and reduce the maintenance costs of high value structures, as in the case of structures and aeronautical parts in carbon fiber (CFRP). This technology allows control at any moment of the load at which a structure is subjected, so that it can quantify those loads that may exceed the established limits, postponing or, if they are serious, advancing their revisions.

Specifically, the available technology in CATEC has considerable advantages when it comes to integration in the structure (can be absorved within the laminate or glued onto the surface of the component), and also allows a large number of sensors on a single line (decreasing implementation costs and "wired" in the structure).

Furthermore and because of the nature of the technology, the optic fiber is electromagnetically immune and cause no interferences to other aircraft instruments.

In aerospace sector, the damage is often induced in composite structures subjected to impacts out of the plane, substantially degrading the mechanical properties of the composites. With this technology it is possible to monitor these damages and solve the problems produced by them.

Using this technology can be monitored, either in flight or scheduled maintenance, the generated structural damage, leading to the possibility of making changes or actions to correct this erosion. Other advantages of this technology are applied in the monitoring of structural and environmental tests or monitoring the degree of cure (during manufacture) of a polymer matrix composite material.

For more information, you make an appointment with the Materials and Processes Area, and its director Fernando Lasagni.




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