A Hybrid Structural Health Monitoring System for the Detection and Localization of Damage in Composite Structures

A hybrid structural health monitoring (SHM) system, consisting of a piezoelectric transducer and fiber optic sensors (FOS) for generating and monitoring Lamb waves, was investigated to determine their potential for damage detection and localization in composite aerospace structures. As part of this study, the proposed hybrid SHM system, together with an in-house developed algorithm, was evaluated to detect and localize two types of damage: a through thickness damage (hole of 2mm in diameter) and a surface damage (2mm diameter bore hole with a depth of 0.65 mm) located on the backside of the plate. The experiments were performed using an aircraft representative composite plate skin, manufactured from carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP).