Distributed Piezo-Optical Active Sensing for Damage Assessment in Composite Materials for Aerospace Application

该项目汇集了具有互补研究兴趣的主管，其总体目标是开发用于航空航天应用的复合材料结构损伤评估的分布式压电光学主动传感。材料性能的结构健康监测（SHM）有望成为持续安全、高效和经济可行运行的关键资源。然而，新SHM技术的发展或进步依赖于对材料状态对检测信号影响的认识。能够预测SHM信号与相关物质状态相互作用的模型可以为SHM的发展和部署提供优化或新的方向。缺陷可能是由于使用条件和环境影响导致的材料退化而在复合材料结构中产生的，或者是在制造过程中引入的。虽然SHM技术正在被开发用于检测有限访问位置的服务缺陷（例如，分层，脱粘，树脂裂纹），但大多数技术必须检查整个结构部件以检测缺陷的存在，这既耗时又昂贵。尚未建立一种能够确定主题组成部分“热点”以便进行有效检查的协商一致办法。该项目以新技术为重点，包括使用声学（被动）和超声波（主动）压电传感、光纤布拉格光栅和分布式光学应变传感器组合的结构部件评估。总之，该方法可以提供一个能够及时询问结构完整性的传感系统，用于复合材料部件的状态评估和诊断，并为关键结构的长期在线监测提供一种改变游戏规则的技术

This project brings together supervisors with complementary research interests with the overarching aim of developing distributed piezo-optical active sensing for damage assessment in composite structures for aerospace applications. Structural health monitoring (SHM) of material performance is expected to be a key resource in continued safe, efficient and economically viable operation. However, development of new or advancement of SHM techniques relies on knowledge of the impact of material state on detection signals. Models that can predict the interaction of SHM signals with relevant material status could provide optimization or new directions for SHM development and deployment.Flaws may have been initiated in the composite structures due to material degradation resulting from service conditions and environmental attack or introduced during the manufacturing process. Though SHM techniques are being developed to detect service-induced flaws (e.g., delamination, disbonds, resin cracks.) in limited-access locations, majority of the techniques have to inspect the entire structural components in order to detect the presence of flaws, which is time-consuming and costly. A consensus approach that can identify "hot spots" in the subject component for efficient inspection has not yet been established.The project is highlighted with novel technologies including structural component evaluation using combined acoustic (passive) and ultrasonic (active) piezoelectric sensing, fibre Bragg gratings and distributed optical strain sensors. Together the proposed method can provide a sensing system that can timely interrogate the structural integrity for condition assessment and diagnosis of composite components and provide a game-changing technique of long-term online monitoring of critical structures