Anglo-Italian safety equipment specialist Aero Sekur (H4/B8) has developed a structural health monitoring system for composite airframes and components, which should overcome weaknesses of existing fibre-optic SHM technologies.
The new system uses microchips - measuring 5mm x 5mm - to process data from sensors placed at relevant positions in the aircraft or embedded in airframe panels during production. The system can be set up for different sensing methodologies, such as strain gauges, ultrasound and lamb wave techniques.
The company's president, Silvio Rossignoli, claims that the microchip technology needs less space, consumes less electricity and offers more testing capability than current systems. It would be free from "problems normally associated with [fibre-optic] junctions sensitive to vibration or stress" and not require "expensive and bulky interrogator boxes", he says.
Additionally, the system is capable of monitoring its own sensor functionality and identifying potential failures.
The company, which manufactures inflation devices - such as aircraft escape slides and life rafts - as well as aircraft and spacecraft chutes, has revealed that it is designing the flotation system for the European Space Agency's "Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle" (IXV) demonstrator.
While the spacecraft demonstrator will only be used to test the recovery on Earth, the four flotation devices and control system will need to be designed to withstand the heat during re-entry into the atmosphere.
Source: Flight Daily News