Successes and challenges in non-destructive testing of aircraft composite structures

The use of millimeter-wave (mmWave) bandwidth is one key enabler to achieve the high data rates in the fifth-generation (5G) cellular systems. However, mmWave signals suffer from significant path loss due to high directivity and sensitivity to blockages, limiting its adoption within small-scale deployments. To enhance the coverage of mmWave communication in 5G and beyond, it is promising to deploy a large number of reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RISs) that passively reflect mmWave signals towards desired directions. With this motivation, in this work, we study the coverage of an RIS-assisted large-scale mmWave cellular network using stochastic geometry, and derive the peak reflection power expression of an RIS and the downlink signal-to-interference ratio (SIR) coverage expression in closed forms. These analytic results clarify the effectiveness of deploying RISs in the mmWave SIR coverage enhancement, while unveiling the major role of the density ratio between active base stations (BSs) and passive RISs. Furthermore, the results show that deploying passive reflectors are as effective as equipping BSs with more active antennas in the mmWave coverage enhancement. Simulation results confirm the tightness of the closed-form expressions, corroborating our major findings based on the derived expressions.

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RIS-Assisted Coverage Enhancement in Millimeter-Wave Cellular Networks

This work describes a novel method of embedded damage detection within glass fiber–reinforced polymer composites. Damage detection is achieved by monitoring the spatially distributed electrical conductivity of a strain-sensitive multiwalled carbon nanotube thin film. First, thin films were spray-deposited directly upon glass fiber mats. Second, using electrical impedance tomography, the spatial conductivity distribution of the thin film was determined before and after damage-inducing events. The resolution of the sensor was determined by drilling progressively larger holes in the center of the composite specimens, and the corresponding electrical impedance tomography response was measured by recording the current–voltage data at the periphery of the monitored composite sample. In addition, the sensitivity to damage occurring at different locations in the composite was also investigated by comparing electrical impedance tomography spatial conductivity maps obtained for specimens with sets of holes drilled at different locations in the sensing area. Finally, the location and severity of damage from low-velocity impact events were detected using the electrical impedance tomography method. The work presented in this study indicates a paradigm shift in the available possibilities for structural health monitoring of fiber-reinforced polymer composites.

Detection of Spatially Distributed Damage in Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Composites.

Concrete failure will lead to serious safety concerns in the performance of a building structure. It is one of the biggest challenges for engineers to inspect and maintain the quality of concrete throughout the service years in order to prevent structural deterioration. To date, a lot of research is ongoing to develop different instruments to inspect concrete quality. Detection of moisture ingress is important in the structural monitoring of concrete. This paper presents a novel sensing technique using a smart antenna for the non-destructive evaluation of moisture content and deterioration inspection in concrete blocks. Two different standard concrete samples (United Kingdom and Malaysia) were investigated in this research. An electromagnetic (EM) sensor was designed and embedded inside the concrete to detect the moisture content within the structure. In addition, CST microwave studio was used to validate the theoretical model of the EM sensor against the test data. The results demonstrated that the EM sensor at 2.45 GHz is capable of detecting the moisture content in the concrete with linear regression of R2 = 0.9752. Furthermore, identification of different mix ratios of concrete were successfully demonstrated in this paper. In conclusion, the EM sensor is capable of detecting moisture content non-destructively and could be a potential technique for maintenance and quality control of the building performance.

Embedded Smart Antenna for Non-Destructive Testing and Evaluation (NDT&E) of Moisture Content and Deterioration in Concrete.

This review introduces several areas of importance in acoustic emission (AE) technology, starting from signal attenuation. Signal loss is a critical issue in any large-scale AE monitoring, but few systematic studies have appeared. Information on damping and attenuation has been gathered from metal, polymer, and composite fields to provide a useful method for AE monitoring. This is followed by discussion on source location, bridge monitoring, sensing and signal processing, and pressure vessels and tanks, then special applications are briefly covered. Here, useful information and valuable sources are identified with short comments indicating their significance. It is hoped that readers note developments in areas outside of their own specialty for possible cross-fertilization.

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Review on Structural Health Evaluation with Acoustic Emission

The health monitoring of aerostructures assists performance enhancement of existing structures. Continuous monitoring and different techniques involved in the structural monitoring help to increase the efficiency of structures, postpone the failures, and provide the prototype for future aerospace structures with better durability. Structural performance of aerospace composites depends on strength, stiffness, yield capacity, bending capacity, resistance against corrosion, impact and lightning, and fatigue due to cyclic loading. In structural monitoring, the four different stages followed to monitor any damage in aerospace composite structure are operation evaluation, data accession, feature extraction, followed by statistical modeling. This chapter on structural health monitoring for aerostructures elaborates the methods to detect and prevent the failures in the structures, as observed through a series of literature available based on the type of damages and techniques to detect them like cracking, fiber pullout, delamination and shearography, eddy current method, transient thermographic method, etc, respectively. In this chapter structural health monitoring of composite aerostructures is reviewed in detail. Different techniques used to monitor the various failures occurring in the composite structures in aerospace industry are explained in detail. Structures made of composite material used in aerospace fail due to fiber-matrix damage. Hence, it is important to analyze such damage like fiber buckling, fiber splitting, fiber cracking, fiber fracture, and fiber bending, and cracks in the matrix etc. to prevent catastrophic results.

Structural health monitoring of aerospace composites

The implementation of health monitoring in various structures proves to be beneficial in numerous ways like providing enhanced public safety, improving life span of structures, cutting costs, and early detection of risks thus helping in improving the overall performance of the structures. The improved performance of structures is also essential for the nation and its development. Increased usage of various sensors in different bridges like as Tsing Ma Bridge, Confederation Bridge, and Commodore Barry Bridge structures leads to effective structural health monitoring, which further ensures their long life span. Despite using sensors in the structures, there are some factors like environmental factors, misinterpretation of collected data by mixing of various structural health monitoring (SHM) techniques, and on-site construction defects which affects the conclusions related to the nature of damage and its location. In this chapter, a detailed study of benefits of structural health monitoring and thus the need to meet recent requirements by various recent trends is done. With the progress in trends of structural health monitoring techniques challenges which de-toured the final results of SHM techniques are reviewed in detail. This chapter on recent trends in structural health monitoring includes an elaborate study of advanced technology such as optical fiber Bragg grating (OFBG) strain sensors to monitor damages in civil infrastructures, carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP)-OFBG sensing unit to measure the interface strain and fiber optic sensors for measuring small cracks. These recent trends are extremely effective in meeting various requirements for a modern SHM system, but they still encounter various challenges that affect the measurement data and final conclusions. Therefore various research studies are taking place in the SHM field to achieve an absolutely error-proof monitoring system in the near future.

Shukla Alokita

Papers

Structural health monitoring of aerospace composites

Recent advances and trends in structural health monitoring