Structural health monitoring in commercial aviation

Abstract

The number of aging commercial aircraft in service is steadily increasing as airlines continue to extend the life of their aircraft. Aging aircraft are more susceptible to fatigue and corrosion and require more frequent and intensive inspections and maintenance, which is a financial drain on operators. One way to improve the economics and safety of commercial aircraft is through implementation of a structural health monitoring (SHM) system. An ideal SHM would be able to give be capable of indicating damage type, location, severity, and estimate the remaining life of the structure while the structure is in use. This paper is an overview of how SHM can be applied in commercial aviation including discussion of requirements, implementation, challenges, and introducing several possible SHM systems. The SHM systems introduced in this paper are: vibration based monitoring, fiber optic sensors, and high frequency wave propagation techniques including acoustic emission, ultrasonic, Lamb waves, piezoelectric and MEMS actuator/sensors. The limitations and challenges inhibiting introduction of SHM to industry and recommendations for the future are also discussed.