Recent development in fiber optic sensing technology has mainly focused on discrete sensing, particularly,
sensing systems with potential multiplexing and multi-parameter capabilities. Bragg grating fiber optic
sensors have emerged as the non-disputed champion for multiplexing and simultaneous multi-parameter
sensing for emerging high value structural components, advanced processing and manufacturing capabilities
and increased critical infrastructure resilience applications. Although the number of potential applications for
this sensing technology is large and spans the domains of medicine, manufacturing, aerospace, and public
safety; critical issues such as fatigue life, sensitivity, accuracy, embeddability, material/sensor interface
integrity, and universal demodulation systems still need to be addressed.
The purpose of this paper is to primarily evaluate Commercial-Of-The-Shelf (COTS) Fiber Bragg Grating
(FBG) sensors’ sensitivity to pressure, often neglected in several applications. The COTS fiber sensitivity to
pressure is further evaluated for two types of coatings (Polyimide and Acrylate), and different arrangements
(arrayed and single).
High quality, controlled-structure nanowires (NWs), grown on a transparent flexible substrate, have attracted great
interest as a mean of harvesting solar and mechanical energy. Clarifying their optical and piezoelectric properties is
essential for this application. In this paper, vertically aligned lithium (Li) doped p-type ZnO NWs were grown, on a
micro-patterned transparent flexible polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) substrate, by electrochemical deposition at 88 °C.
The substrate was coated with aluminum-doped ZnO (AZO) thin layer, which served as a good seed layer and a
transparent conductive oxide layer. Varying the seed layer thickness gave control of the individual NWs’ diameter,
density and alignment. The effect of doping on the optical band-gap, crystalline quality and Schottky barrier were
investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectroscopy and piezoelectric characterization. The piezoelectric polarization
induced piezo-potential in strained ZnO NWs can drive the flow of electrons without an applied electric bias, thus can be
used to harvest mechanical energy and convert it into electricity. To prove this concept, flexible piezoelectric energy
harvesters based on an array of ZnO NWs were fabricated. Results show that the patterned p-type NW-based energy
harvester produces 26-fold output voltage and 19-fold current compared to the conventional un-doped ZnO NW energy
harvester from the same acceleration input.
A humidity fiber optic sensor based on phase-shifted (PS) fiber Bragg Gratings (FBG) is demonstrated in this paper. The sensor (PS-FBG) is coated with a moisture sensitive polyimide. When this thin coating is exposed to moisture its swells, hence inducing tensile stress on the PS-FBG and affecting its Bragg wavelength. Due to its intrinsic properties, the PS-FBG sensor presents the same trend of wavelength variation as standard fiber Bragg Grating sensor but with higher measurement resolution, and reliable measurements can be obtained in different humidity and temperature environments. This paper assesses the suitability, including sensitivity and response time, of the phaseshifted FBG sensor approach for humidity sensing. By monitoring this change, it is demonstrated that the humidity level of the environment can be accurately monitored.
In this paper, a novel imaging technique is assessed with a structural health monitoring (SHM) system based on a sparse
array of piezoceramic sensors and actuators for in-plane inspection. The imaging approach used in this system is based
on the Time-of-Flight (ToF), and the knowledge of the velocity of ultrasonic waves in the structure. While this technique
assumes non-dispersive wave propagation, the proposed imaging technique exploits the dispersion of waves as it is based
on the phase velocity. The signal measured at a given sensor is correlated with a theoretical prediction of a propagated
burst in the structure and, combining the results for multiple sensors, an image of the reflectors in the structure is obtained.
This paper presents the implementation of the novel imaging technique in an existing system, including considerations for
physical access to the signals and their conditioning. The performance of the existing imaging approach is compared with
the novel imaging technique proposed for two test cases. The first assessment is conducted on a simple aluminum plate
where magnets are used to simulate a defect. Then, the assessment of the novel imaging techniques is conducted on riveted
plates with simulated cracks of different lengths. Imaging results are presented for a number of damage detection scenarios
on these structures. The novel imaging technique is shown to improve imaging localization, resolution and robustness,
while allowing fast implementation.
Load monitoring and damage detection are the two critical aspects of aircraft structural health monitoring (SHM). The
load monitoring is achieved by detecting the local strain changes while the damage detection is generally accomplished
by the monitoring of acoustic signal changes. It would be ideal that a single sensor can perform both tasks
simultaneously. This paper reports the demonstration of using fiber Bragg gratings to monitor load and acoustic signal
applied on a simulated aircraft structure. The results clearly show that a single fiber Bragg grating sensor with short
grating length has the potential to perform both tasks simultaneously.
Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) is a sought after concept that is expected to advance military maintenance
programs, increase platform operational safety and reduce its life cycle cost. Such concept is further considered to
constitute a major building block of any Integrated Health Management (IHM) capability. Since 65% to 80% of military
assets' Life Cycle Cost (LCC) is devoted to operations and support (O&S), the aerospace industry and military sectors
continue to look for opportunities to exploit SHM systems, capability and tools. Over the past several years, countless
SHM concepts and technologies have emerged. Among those, fiber optic based systems were identified of significant
potential.
This paper introduces the elements of an SHM system and investigates key issues impeding the commercial
implementation of fiber optic based SHM capability. In particular, this paper presents an experimental study of short
gauge, intrinsic, spectrometric-based in-fiber Bragg grating sensors, for potential use as a component of an SHM system.
Fiber optic Bragg grating sensors are evaluated against resistance strain gauges for strain monitoring, sensitivity,
accuracy, reliability, and fatigue durability. Strain field disturbance is also investigated by "embedding" the sensors
under a photoelastic coating in order to illustrate sensor intrusiveness in an embedded configuration.
Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) has been identified as an area of significant potential for advanced aircraft
maintenance programs that ensure continued airworthiness, enhanced operational safety and reduced life cycle cost.
Several sensors and sensory systems have been developed for the implementation of such health monitoring capability.
Among a wide range of developed technologies, fiber optic sensor technology, in particular fiber Bragg grating based
emerged as one of the most promising for aircraft structural applications. This paper is set to explore the suitability of
using a new Fiber Bragg Grating sensor (FBG) system developed for operation in two modes, low and high speed
sensing modes, respectively. The suitability of the system for potential use in aircraft load monitoring and damage
detection applications has been demonstrated. Results from FBG sensor system were in good agreement with results
from conventional resistive strain gauges, validating this capability for load monitoring. For damage detection, the FBG
sensor system was able to detect acoustic waves generated 52 inches (1.32 m) away. The initial results, obtained in a full
stale experimentation, demonstrate the potential of using FBG sensors for both load monitoring and damage detection in
aircraft environment.
A naturally cracked aircraft stabilizer former has been examined. By using surface shear horizontal diagnostic acoustic
waves and a multi-point detection approach, a fretting crack, 0.2-inch long, 0.03-inch deep and at 0.06-inch to a rivet
hole has been clearly identified. The proposed approach provides a simple way to interpret sensor output without
imposing demanding transducer performance requirements.
We report a miniaturized wavelength interrogator for the static and dynamic strain fiber Bragg grating sensors. The
developed interrogator is based on a monolithically integrated echelle diffractive grating and works in two independent
modes, one for the static strain measurement and the other for dynamic strain measurement. The proposed interrogator is
evaluated by measureing a static strain of 400 με and a dynamic strain of 200 Hz with a peak-to-peak amplitude of 200
με. Initial results are excellent and show that these two interrogation modes can be potentially performed
simultaneously.
Implementation of an integratable ultrasonic sensor network with associated cable connection for high temperature
monitoring applications is demonstrated through application of a three-element ultrasonic sensor network for
temperature measurement in a turbine stator assembly. The sensor network is composed of a piezoelectric composite
film deposited on a titanium substrate with a sol-gel technique and three top electrodes deposited on the piezoelectric
film. The sensor network is glued onto a selected area of the stator assembly in such a way that three subareas with
different wall thicknesses are probed individually by each of the sensing elements. The ultrasonically instrumented stator
assembly is first heated in a furnace to different temperatures. At each temperature and for each probed location the
transit time of ultrasonic waves through assembly wall thickness is measured. Then a relationship between transit time
and wall temperature is established. In a subsequent experiment, the stator assembly is heated up to 200 °C and then let
cool down while the transit time in the assembly wall is being measured continuously. By using the transit time versus
temperature relationship obtained earlier, the heating and cooling rates at the three probed locations are determined and
then compared.
A damage detection capability based on a flexible ultrasonic transducer (FUT) array bonded onto a planar and a curved
surface is presented. The FUT array was fabricated on a 75 μm titanium substrate using sol-gel spray technique. Room
temperature curable adhesive is used as the bonding agent and ultrasonic couplant between the transducer and the test
article. The bonding agent was successfully tested for aircraft environmental temperatures between -80 °C and 100 °C.
For a planar test article, selected FUT arrays were able to detect fasteners damage within a planar distance of 176 mm,
when used in the pulse-echo mode. Such results illustrate the effectiveness of the developed FUT transducer as compared
to commercial 10MHz ultrasonic transducer (UT). These FUT arrays were further demonstrated on a curved test article.
Pulse-echo measurements confirmed the reflected echoes from the specimen. Such measurement was not possible with
commercial UTs due to the curved nature of the test article and its accessibility, thus demonstrating the suitability and
superiority of the developed flexible ultrasonic transducer capability.
In this study, a mechanical shaker operating at low frequencies is demonstrated to be a viable excitation source for
vibrothermography. Additionally, a low-cost transduction approach based on commercially available piezoelectric
materials (PZT) is investigated. These PZT transducers are assessed for their excitation efficiency to allow crack
detection in metallic structures. Cracks as small as 1 mm are detected using the mechanical shaker regardless of a beam
structure orientation or crack location. Although the low-cost
PZT-based transduction approach had sufficient excitation
power to generate vibration, localized heat generation was not observed at crack locations.
Optical Fiber Bragg Gratings (FBG) sensors have seen significant development in recent years. Such sensor
technology developed initially for the civil infrastructure is currently attracting the aerospace industry due to
the potential versatility of this technology and its measurement capability. The structural health monitoring
and the diagnostics and prognostics health management communities are excited about such development and
ready to embrace such capability. Sensors reliability and accuracy, however, continue to be two parameters
critical to the eventual implementation of the technology in high value targets. Such parameters can be
improved by different manufacturing techniques as well as optimum grating's coating selection. This paper
presents an evaluation of the mechanical behavior of the FBG strain sensors. A simulated analysis, using
finite element modeling, revealed the impact of coating material selection, coating thickness selection, and
bonding effect on the strain transfer loss. Results illustrate that metallic fiber coatings are more suitable for
improved strain transfer than their polymeric counterparts and acrylic coatings are least effective with
adhesive layer as small as possible.
Within several countries, the military is undergoing significant economic pressure to extend the use of its air fleet
beyond its established design life. The availability of low weight, small size, reliable and cost-effective technologies to
detect and monitor incipient damage and to alert prior to catastrophic failures is critical to sustain operational
effectiveness. To enable the implementation of distributed and highly multiplexed optical fiber sensors networks to
aerospace platforms, the data acquisition (interrogation) system has to meet small size and low weight requirements.
This paper reports on our current development of micro-sized Echelle Diffractive Gratings (EDG) based interrogation
system for strain monitoring of serially multiplexed fibre Bragg grating sensors. The operation principle of the
interrogator and its suitability for strain measurements is demonstrated. Static load measurements obtained using this
system are compared to those acquired using a optical
multi-wavelength meter and are found to have strong correlation.
Two types of ultrasonic sensors are presented for structural health monitoring (SHM) and non-destructive testing (NDT)
of graphite/epoxy (Gr/Ep) composites of thickness ranging from 1mm to 27.9mm. These piezoelectric film based sensors
are fabricated using a sol-gel spray technique. The center operation frequency of these sensors ranged from 1.3MHz to
10.5MHz. For the first sensor type, piezoelectric films of thickness greater than 60μm were deposited directly onto
planar and curved Gr/Ep composites surfaces as integrated sensors. Ultrasonic signals propagating in a distance of more
than 300mm have been obtained. Anisotropy of 0° and 90° cross ply Gr/Ep composite was measured. For the second
sensor type, piezoelectric films were coated onto a 50µm thick polyimide membrane as flexible sensors that could be
attached to a host composite structure with planar or curved surfaces. The flexibility of such FUTs is achieved due to the
thin polymide, porous PZT/PZT ceramics and electrodes. An induction type non-contact method for the interrogation of
the Gr/Ep composites using integrated sensors is also presented. Such non-contact technique may be desired for NDT of
rotating composite components.
A wavelength interrogation system based on an arrayed-waveguide-grating (AWG) is evaluated. The transmission
wavelengths are capable of shifting by thermally scanning the AWG. By employing this AWG wavelength tunability
scheme, the center wavelength of a long-period-grating (LPG) sensor is precisely interrogated. The theoretical principle
and the experimental result are presented in this paper. An interrogated wavelength resolution of 0.5 pm is achieved by
introducing this technique. Furthermore, a palm-size LPG sensor interrogator based on a chip integrated with an AWG
demultiplexer, a photodiode, a signal processing module and an electronic controlling module is proposed.
Miniature and light weight thick piezoelectric films (>40μm) integrated ultrasonic transducers (IUTs) for bulk
longitudinal (L) and shear (S) and plate acoustic waves (PAW) propagation are presented. The unique and distinct
advantages of these IUTs are that they can be fabricated, using sol-gel based technique, directly onto sample with
complex structures including curved surfaces and require no couplant for operation. Using novel mode conversion
methods, the L wave generated by IUTs can be converted to S, symmetric, anti-symmetric and shear-horizontal (SH)
PAW. The experimental results agreed well with those obtained by a finite difference based method which solves the 3D
visco-elastic wave equations. These IUTs can operate at temperatures at least up to 150°C, at center frequencies ranging
from 1 to 20 MHz, and provide damage detection range of tens of centimeters in metallic structures. An inductive
coupled technique is used to achieve non-contact measurements with these IUTs.
Advances in sensors and sensors networks have significantly shaped the fundamental approach to dealing with
traditional health monitoring problems within the aerospace community. Sensors with increased networking capability
are seen to constitute the nervous system for any envisaged aircraft diagnostics, prognostics and health management
(DPHM) system. Highly multiplexed fiber Bragg grating optical fibers immerged as one of the leading technologies for
potential development of an integrated global airframe DPHM system. In this paper, we identify key limitations of this
technology and propose an approach to address two of these limitations; namely, temperature compensated measurement
and miniaturized demodulation system. Our experimental development illustrated the potential of the approach taken to
deal with temperature compensation and suggest proper selection of gratings wavelength. Moreover, it demonstrates the
suitability of the developed demodulation system for interrogating highly multiplexed gratings.
Optical fiber sensors have shown great potentials for aerospace applications. But two issues need to be addressed before
these applications can be realized. One is how to reliably implement optical sensors in the air vehicles. The other is the
need of compact, low weight sensor interrogation systems. We propose to use planar lightwave circuits (PLC) to address
the second issue. In this article, we report some of our results on the development of both echelle diffractive gratings
based sensor interrogator and arrayed waveguide gratings based sensor interrogators. Both approaches offer miniaturized
solutions for the development of optical fiber sensor interrogation systems.
Since their introduction in the mid seventies, a variety of fibre optic sensor configurations have been developed for the
measurement of strain, deformation, temperature, vibration, pressure, etc. Variation of these parameters alters the
refractive index and the geometric properties of the optical fibre, which in turn perturbs the intensity, phase, or
polarization of the light wave propagating in the waveguide. Only in the past decade that Bragg grating-based fibre
optic sensors emerged as the non-disputed champion in multiplexing and dual parameter sensing with increased potential
for smart structure applications. Stringent requirements for single point discrete or distributed simultaneous strain and
temperature measurements prompted this characterization study which has the objective of developing a detailed
understanding of grating characteristics and response under external stimuli. Collocated and serially placed gratings
were evaluated and tested for their effective sensitivity to strain and temperature and to coating materials variation such
as polyamide and acrylite. Experimental sensitivity results correlated well with theoretical estimation for strain in single
gratings. Whereas, significant wavelength differential is required for simultaneous temperature and strain measurement
if collocated gratings are used.
Piezoelectric films sprayed onto metal substrates together with interdigital transducer electrodes form the integrated
Rayleigh surface acoustic wave (RAW) transducers to excite and detect RAW. Using integrated longitudinal (L) wave
ultrasonic transducers (UTs) and mode conversion from L waves to shear waves symmetrical, anti-symmetrical and
shear horizontal types of guided plate acoustic waves have been generated and received in aluminum alloy plates. These
transducers can be operated in pulse-echo mode for in-situ non-destructive testing (NDT) and/or health monitoring
purposes in a distance of hundreds of mini-meters at 150°C. Examples of using such waves for NDT of defects are also
demonstrated.
Pre-existing cracks, introduced by a Vickers diamond hardness indenter in BM500 (Navy Type II) PZT, exhibit visible
growth and thickening when subjected to low frequency electric fields with amplitudes above a threshold on the order of
1.66 Ec. Thickening, but no growth, of cracks is also observed after cycles of a field of 1.64 Ec. The threshold field is
related to the ferroelectric, piezoelectric and elastic properties of the ceramic. At fields above the threshold, cracks grow
to a limiting size after a relatively low number of cycles, and then increase in width, as opposed to length, when further
electric cycles are applied. The maximum size to which field-induced cracks grow is of the order of the separation of the
electrodes. Changes observed in the resonance peaks of impedance spectra may be used as a basis for non-destructive
identification of defects in piezoelectrics.
KEYWORDS: Inspection, Corrosion, Data fusion, Probability theory, X-rays, Nondestructive evaluation, Data modeling, Associative arrays, Image fusion, Defense and security
In this work the Dempster-Shafer (DS) theory has been used for fusing nondestructive inspection (NDI) data. The success of a DS-based method depends on how the basic probability assignment
(BPA) or probability mass function is defined. In the case of nondestructive inspection of aircraft lap joints, which is of interest here, the inspection data is presented in raster-scanned images. These images are discriminated by iteratively trained classifiers. The BPA is defined based on the conditional probability of information classes and data classes, which are obtained from
ground truth data and NDI measurements respectively. Then, the Dempster rule of combination is applied to fuse multiple NDI inputs. The maximum mass outputs determine the final classification results. In this work, conventional eddy current (ET) and pulsed eddy current
(P-ET) techniques were employed to inspect the fuselage lap joints of a service-retired Boeing 727 aircraft in order to map corrosion sites. Estimation of the remaining thickness from the inspection data is the aim of this work. The ground truth data was obtained by
teardown inspections followed by a digital X-ray thickness mapping technique, which provides accurate thickness values. The experimental results verify the efficiency of the proposed method.
The design of fully integrated structures, and especially of new generation composites with embedded sensors and actuators, now requires the development of adequate tools for predicting the static and the dynamic behavior of the structure as well as its life cycle. These tools will provide flexibility in assessing well-suited control strategies for optimum structural performance. As a first step towards the development of integrated computational tools for smart structures, this work validates both theoretically and experimentally the implementation under MSC/NASTRAN of a simplified multilayer tri-dimensional model based on the analogy between thermal strains and piezoelectric strains. Numerical results obtained from this model are first compared to results obtained from a reference finite element tri-dimensional piezoelectric code developed to assess the thermal analogy for different loading conditions. Experimental validation is also conducted on a clamped AS4/3501-6 carbon/epoxy composite beam structure excited at the clamped end by an embedded piezoelectric. Results obtained from vibration testing are assessed with the thermal analogy model using a large number of tri-dimensional elements in order to get a detailed representation of the different variables. Details for practical implementation of the embedment procedures are presented along with the adequate model prediction of the structure's dynamic behavior.
The number of advanced senors such as optical fiber sensors has exhibited tremendous growth in recent years. Optical fiber sensors, which are dielectric and chemically inert, possess characteristics that are attractive for aerospace applications. These characteristics include small size, immunity to Electromagnetic (EM) and radio frequency (RF) interference, solid state electronics reliability, geometric versatility and flexibility, and multi-parametric sensitivity. In this paper in-fiber Bragg grating fiber optic sensors are employed as strain sensors. The output of the fiber optic sensor is evaluated against currently employed sensors, resistance strain gauges and a photoelastic coating, for sensitivity, accuracy, reliability, and fatigue durability. This experimental study, which employs a tensile specimen with bonded sensors and sensors embedded between the host material and a photoelastic coating, also illustrates the reduced intrusiveness of embedded optical fiber sensors as compared to resistance strain gauges.
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