Structural health monitoring technologies and next-generation smart composite structures

Structural health monitoring technologies and next-generation smart composite structures

Over the past few decades there have been many breakthroughs in the development of smart materials and miniaturisation of sensors. Furthermore a number of nano technologies have underpinned the present rapid development of smart structures. The innovations and advancement of micro and nano-scale sensor technologies have brought the development of smart structures closer to reality, attracting enormous research attention. Increased usage of fibre reinforced composites in advanced engineering fields such as Space, Aerospace, Energy, Automobile and Civil infrastructures has created an emerging need for smart/intelligent structures in next generation designs. The focus of this technology is to bring to fruition self-prognosis/diagnosis and self-healing capabilities within composite structures. The complex nature of damage mechanics and unresolved issues, such as progressive damage accumulation durability/residual-life, remain and there has been rising concern with composite material failures, leading to this demand intelligent and live diagnostics within so-called “smart” composite structures. This is especially important for aerospace vehicles such as helicopters that need to perform close to optimum for all its constituent parts. The detection of structural damage such as cracks and delamination in fibre composite structures remains an important issue for damage identification - it is an important, basic building block within the development of smart/intelligent structures in aerospace application.
Global awareness of structural health monitoring systems (SHM), smart structures & materials significantly changing design, manufacturing and maintenance management systems of multi billion dollars worth defence and critical infrastructures in the world. Due to this reason, aerospace, defence, chemical, automobile, and civil engineering fields have been engaged in an extremely difficult task of finding SHM systems and smart structure for the new generation products and structures. Each engineering fields have distinct limitations and challenges at various levels of difficulties in adopting principles of SHM and the replacement of traditional materials with smart materials. In this context exchange of specific information related to SHM systems and smart structures seems to be bounded by IP issues and commercially confidential environments. Due to this reason, advancements of SHM systems and smart structures are facing serious drawbacks.
Globally SHM systems and smart structures are developed by using fundamental physical phenomenon/properties inherited by the materials. The stress/strain, acoustic emission and wave propagation, vibration and damping of material are some of the physical phenomenon/properties that widely use in SHM field. Furthermore the smart materials developed with the advancement of new materials development field has contributed in development of smart structures. The use of electrically activated polymers and shape memory alloys are good examples of advanced smart materials. Though there has been a significant involvement in smart materials, smart structures are not limited to use of materials and integrated SHM. The smart structures are developed with innovative design concepts using the materials inherent physical and mechanical properties. As such the SHM and smart structures are not only depending on sensors and smart materials along but also innovative design and manufacturing methods.
This book mainly intends to collect the advancements of unbound applied research in SHM and smart structures fields. The collection of the advances research work on generic SHM and smart structures will be expanded with the potentially applicable research in the field.

c. 2016 Taylor & Francis (CRC Press).