Active Damage Detection & Visualization for Naval Assets

This proposal presents an optimized approach for Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) of naval assets. This research leverages hardware previously developed by Metis Design Corporation (MDC), including distributed digitization hardware, piezoelectric-based damage-localization sensors, and a data accumulation hub. Collaborating with UCSD, there were three main thrusts for the Phase I research: sensor placement optimization using a Bayesian risk minimization approach, guided wave-based algorithm development using a hybrid phase coherent/incoherent approach, and data visualization using a sonar-image reconstruction approach. This Phase I culminated in a blind demonstration of the technology on a large aluminum plate, detecting and illustrating multiple damage locations introduced by Navy staff. This Phase II effort will seek to mature this approach to be suitable for deployment on multiple naval platforms. The initial task will focus on compensation for environmental and operational loading conditions. The second task will focus on developing robust generic tools that could be used for SHM system design, algorithm calibration and visualization customization. The final task option will provide validation for these tools including the compensation elements on large-scale components in the laboratory and then in a relevant environment. At the completion of the program, this SHM system will be available for navy fleet deployment.