Dual sensor system for global damage assessment in composite structures (GDACS)

We propose a dual sensor system which supports in-flight global damage assessment in composite structures (GDACS) including air-frame superstructure and rotor blade assemblies. The system integrates in-flight structural health monitoring for impact damage detection (IDD) with flight-line deployment of an advanced laser vibration imaging (LVI) system for defect classification. The GDACS system comprises a sparse sensor array which, together with inverse signal analysis, identifies the location of impact loading events as they occur in-flight. A local damage evaluation (LVI) sensor is deployed to inspect identified high energy impact sites to assess and characterize the extent of damage. Together, these sensor systems provide a means for identifying potential damage events as they occur and categorizing damage severity to guide subsequent maintenance procedures. The historical data provided by the integrated system could thus provide a comprehensive framework for structural health monitoring and life-time air vehicle maintenance.