A guided-wave system for monitoring the wing skin-to-spar bond in unmanned aerial vehicles

Howard Matt; Ivan Bartoli; Francesco Lanza di Scalea; Alessandro Marzani; Stefano Coccia; Joseph Oliver; John Kosmatka; Piervincenzo Rizzo; Gaetano Restivo

doi:10.1117/12.599061

17 May 2005 A guided-wave system for monitoring the wing skin-to-spar bond in unmanned aerial vehicles

Howard Matt, Ivan Bartoli, Francesco Lanza di Scalea, Alessandro Marzani, Stefano Coccia, Joseph Oliver, John Kosmatka, Piervincenzo Rizzo, Gaetano Restivo

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 5765, Smart Structures and Materials 2005: Sensors and Smart Structures Technologies for Civil, Mechanical, and Aerospace Systems; (2005) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.599061
Event: SPIE Smart Structures and Materials + Nondestructive Evaluation and Health Monitoring, 2005, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are being increasingly used in military as well as civil applications. A critical part of the structure is the adhesive bond between the wing skin and the supporting spar. If not detected early, bond defects originating during manufacturing or in service flight can lead to inefficient flight performance and eventual global failure. This paper will present results from a bond inspection system based on attached piezoelectric disks probing the skin-to-spar bondline with ultrasonic guided waves in the hundreds of kilohertz range. The test components were CFRP composite panels of two different fiber layups bonded to a CFRP composite tube using epoxy adhesive. Three types of bond conditions were simulated, namely regions of poor cohesive strength, regions with localized disbonds and well bonded regions. The root mean square and variance of the received time-domain signals and their discrete wavelet decompositions were computed for the dominant modes propagating through the various bond regions in two different inspection configurations. Semi-analytical finite element analysis of the bonded multilayer joint was also carried out to identify and predict the sensitivity of the predominant carrier modes to the different bond defects. Emphasis of this research is based upon designing a built-in system for monitoring the structural integrity of bonded joints in UAVs and other aerospace structures.

Citation Download Citation

Howard Matt, Ivan Bartoli, Francesco Lanza di Scalea, Alessandro Marzani, Stefano Coccia, Joseph Oliver, John Kosmatka, Piervincenzo Rizzo, and Gaetano Restivo "A guided-wave system for monitoring the wing skin-to-spar bond in unmanned aerial vehicles", Proc. SPIE 5765, Smart Structures and Materials 2005: Sensors and Smart Structures Technologies for Civil, Mechanical, and Aerospace Systems, (17 May 2005); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.599061

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