Preliminary Results of a Structural Health Monitoring System Application for Real-Time Debonding Detection on a Full-Scale Composite Spar
Monica Ciminello, Bogdan Sikorski, Bernardino Galasso, Lorenzo Pellone, Umberto Mercurio, Antonio Concilio, Gianvito Apuleo, Aniello Cozzolino, Iddo Kressel, Shay Shoham, Moshe Tur
Abstract
The present paper reports the outcomes of activities concerning a real-time SHM system for debonding flaw detection based on ground testing of an aircraft structural component as a basis for condition-based maintenance. In this application, a damage detection method unrelated to structural or load models is investigated. In the reported application, the system is applied for real-time detection of two flaws, kissing bond type, artificially deployed over a full-scale composite spar under the action of external bending loads. The proposed algorithm, local high-edge onset (LHEO), detects damage as an edge onset in both the space and time domains, correlating current strain levels to next strain levels within a sliding inner product proportional to the sensor step and the acquisition time interval, respectively. Real-time implementation can run on a consumer-grade computer. The SHM algorithm was written in Matlab and compiled as a Python module, then called from a multiprocess wrapper code with separate operations for data reception and data elaboration. The proposed SHM system is made of FBG arrays, an interrogator, an in-house SHM code, an original decoding software (SW) for real-time implementation of multiple SHM algorithms and a continuous interface with an external operator.