Fiber Optic Sensors for Structural Health Monitoring of Air Platforms

Sensors

Honglei Guo¹  Gaozhi Xiao³  Nezih Mrad² 

[1] Microwave Photonics Research Laboratory, School of Information Technology and Engineering, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5, Canada; E-Mails:;Air Vehicles Research Section, Defence R&D Canada, Department of National Defence, National Defence Headquarters, Ottawa, ON K1A 0K2, Canada;Institute for Microstructural Sciences, National Research Council Canada, Ottawa, ON K1A 0R6, Canada

关键词: aircraft;    damage detection;    fiber Bragg grating;    fiber optic acoustic sensor;    load monitoring;    structural health monitoring;   

DOI  :  10.3390/s110403687

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Aircraft operators are faced with increasing requirements to extend the service life of air platforms beyond their designed life cycles, resulting in heavy maintenance and inspection burdens as well as economic pressure. Structural health monitoring (SHM) based on advanced sensor technology is potentially a cost-effective approach to meet operational requirements, and to reduce maintenance costs. Fiber optic sensor technology is being developed to provide existing and future aircrafts with SHM capability due to its unique superior characteristics. This review paper covers the aerospace SHM requirements and an overview of the fiber optic sensor technologies. In particular, fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensor technology is evaluated as the most promising tool for load monitoring and damage detection, the two critical SHM aspects of air platforms. At last, recommendations on the implementation and integration of FBG sensors into an SHM system are provided.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2011 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.