ENHANCING STRUCTURAL HEALTH MONITORING DATA ACQUISITION WHILE ENSURING COMPATIBILITY WITH EXISTING SYSTEMS

Abstract

Operational Monitoring Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) systems fulfil Fatigue Monitoring purposes of in-service aircraft. The deployment of this technology on Airbus’ military aircraft fleet helps identifying potential issues before they happen. This paper discusses the use case and techniques enhancing the Operational SHM on-board data acquisition providing Damage Detection capabilities, in particular event diagnosis (i.e., mechanical impacts diagnosis). Specifically, gathering data from accelerometers and Piezoelectric sensors, acquired via high-speed acquisition cards able to maintain compatibility with the existing Operational SHM systems on-board and providing diagnosis information about events that could potentially affect the structural integrity of the aircraft.