Full-scale testing of an ultrasonic guided wave based structural health monitoring system for a thermoplastic composite aircraft primary structure
Pedro A. Ochôa (TU Delft - Structural Integrity & Composites)
Roger M. Groves (TU Delft - Structural Integrity & Composites)
Rinze Benedictus (TU Delft - Structural Integrity & Composites, TU Delft - Aerospace Structures & Materials)
More Info
expand_more
Other than for strictly personal use, it is not permitted to download, forward or distribute the text or part of it, without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), unless the work is under an open content license such as Creative Commons.
Abstract
This paper describes the test campaign of an ultrasonic guided wave (GW) based structural health monitoring system (SHM) deployed on a full-scale stiffened panel of a thermoplastic composite horizontal stabilizer torsion box. The diagnostic capabilities of the SHM system were successfully evaluated by testing barely-visible impact damage of different severities, applied in different critical areas of the structure. The test campaign allowed the successful validation of a novel procedure to consistently and reliably design a piezoelectric transducer network. It also allowed the gathering of strong evidence that piezoelectric transducer technology has appropriate durability characteristics for real SHM applications. Finally, it enabled the study of the influence of audible structural vibrations on GW signals.