This work consisted in the research and development of a phased array embedded system for Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) of aircraft structures. This system is based on piezoelectric (PZT) transducers to excite fast propagating first symmetric Lamb wave mode (S0) wavefronts. The intent of this research is to contribute for an increasing safety and efficient operation of aircraft. Currently applied ultrasound inspections to aircraft structures in operation, as a conventional Non Destructive Tests and Evaluations (NDT&E) technique, were reviewed. Such and the previous development of a Lamb wave based SHM system using PZT transducers in a network configuration served as the basis and for comparison to the phased array SHM system developed. Lamb waves’ propagation behaviour was carefully analyzed and a linear PZT phased array SHM system was developed and experimentally tested. The PZT phased array was applied to representative aircraft structural aluminum panels, considering also the existence of structural reinforcements and joints. New techniques, hardware and software, leading to automated damage detection and location, were researched, developed and implemented. Tests for damage detection and location were performed, with the introduction of damages into the specimens being simulated by surface and through the thickness holes and cuts. Damages with a maximum dimension of 1mm applied cumulatively to the specimens subject to different boundary conditions were successfully detected and located. / Graduate

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This thesis aims to present the design and analysis of a structural component of a heavy transport aircraft. The designed component is the &ldquo / coupling&ldquo / which is the interface member connecting two frames or two stringers in the fuselage assembly. The &ldquo / frames&rdquo / , which are the circumferential stiffeners, are joined together by the &ldquo / frame couplings&rdquo / . The &ldquo / stringers&rdquo / , which are the longitudinal stiffeners, are joined together by the &ldquo / stringer couplings&rdquo / . At the preliminary design phase / the structural design principles of the frame and the stringer coupling parts are explained / which are based on the company experiences that were gained from previous aircraft projects. Afterwards, conceptual design phase is performed by structural analysis of the components. The structural analysis methods are defined and illustrated by analyzing typical examples of the frame and the stringer coupling parts. Moreover, the critical load case selection process for the structural components is explained and brief information about the load cases that the structural components will be subjected to in their service life are also given in order to have a feeling about flight regime of the aircraft. The applied loads used in structural analysis of the frame coupling and the stringer coupling components are obtained from the global finite element model of the aircraft. The verification process of the part of global finite element model where the developed components are located is also explained in the thesis. Finally, the general conclusions of the thesis are specified and the recommendations for future work are proposed for similar design and analysis efforts.

Composite structures provide opportunities for weight reduction, material tailoring and integrating control surfaces with embedded transducers, which are not possible in conventional metallic structures. As a result there is a substantial increase in the use of composite materials in aerospace and other major industries, which has necessitated the need for structural health monitoring(SHM) of aerospace structures. In the context of SHM of aircraft structures, there are many areas, which are still not explored and need deep investigation. Among these, one of the major areas is the development of efficient damage models for complex composite structures, like stiffened structures, box-type structures, which are the building blocks of an aircraft wing structure. Quantification of the defect due to porosity and especially the methods for identifying the porous regions in a composite structure is another such area, which demands extensive research. In aircraft structures, it is not advisable for the structures, to have high porosity content, since it can initiate common defects in composites such as, delamination, matrix cracks etc.. In fact, there is need for a high frequency analysis to detect defects in such complex structures and also to detect damages, where the change in the stiffness due to the damage is very small. Lamb wave propagation based method is one of the efficient high frequency wave based method for damage detection and are extensively used for detecting small damages, which is essentially needed in aircraft industry. However, in order, to develop an efficient Lamb wave based SHM system, we also need an efficient computational wave propagation model. Developing an efficient computational wave propagation model for complex structures is still a challenging area. One of the major difficulty is its computational expense, when the analysis is performed using conventional FEM. However, for 1D And 2D composite structures, frequency domain spectral finite element method (SFEM), which are very effective in sensing small stiffness changes due to a defect in a structure, is one of the efficient tool for developing computationally efficient and accurate wave based damage models. In this work, we extend the efficiency of SFEM in developing damage models, for detecting damages in built-up composite structures and porous composite structure. Finally, in reality, the nature of variability of the material properties in a composite structure, created a variety of structural problems, in which the uncertainties in different parameters play a major part. Uncertainties can be due to the lack of good knowledge of material properties or due to the change in the load and support condition with the change in environmental variables such as temperature, humidity and pressure. The modeling technique is also one of the major sources of uncertainty, in the analysis of composites. In fact, when the variations are large, we can find in the literatures available that the probabilistic models are advantageous than the deterministic ones. Further, without performing a proper uncertain wave propagation analysis, to characterize the effect of uncertainty in different parameters, it is difficult to maintain the reliability of the results predicted by SFEM based damage models. Hence, in this work, we also study the effect of uncertainty in different structural parameters on the performance of the damage models, based on the models developed in the present work. First, two SFEM based models, one based on the method of assembling 2D spectral elements and the other based on the concept of coupling 2D and 1D spectral elements, are developed to perform high frequency wave propagation analysis of some of the commonly used built-up composite structures. The SFEM model developed using the plate-beam coupling approach is then used to model wave propagation in a multiple stiffened structure and also to model the stiffened structures with different cross sections such as T-section, I-section and hat section. Next, the wave propagation in a porous laminated composite beam is modeled using SFEM, based on the modified rule of mixture approach. Here, the material properties of the composite is obtained from the modified rule of mixture model, which are then used in SFEM to develop a new model for solving wave propagation problems in porous laminated composite beam. The influence of the porosity content on the parameters such as wave number, group speed and also the effect of variation in theses parameters on the time responses are studied first. Next, the effect of the length of the porous region (in the propagation direction) and the frequency of loading, on the time responses, is studied. The change in the time responses with the change in the porosity of the structure is used as a parameter to find the porosity content in a composite beam. The SFEM models developed in this study is then used in the context of wave based damage detection, in the next study. First ,the actual measured response from a structure and the numerically obtained response from a SFEM model for porous laminated composite beam are used for the estimation of porosity, by solving a nonlinear optimization problem. The damage force indicator (DFI) technique is used to locate the porous region in a beam and also to find its length, using the measured wave propagation responses. DFI is derived from the dynamic stiffness matrix of the healthy structure along with the nodal displacements of the damaged structure. Next, a wave propagation based method is developed for modeling damage in stiffened composite structures, using SFEM, to locate and quantify the damage due to a crack and skin-stiffener debonding. The method of wave scattering and DFI technique are used to quantify the damage in the stiffened structure. In the uncertain wave propagation analysis, a study on the uncertainty in material parameters on the wave propagation responses in a healthy metallic beam structure is performed first. Both modulus of elasticity and density are considered uncertain and the analysis is performed using Monte-Carlo simulation (MCS) under the environment of SFEM. The randomness in the material properties are characterized by three different distributions namely normal, Weibul and extreme value distribution and their effect on wave propagation, in beam is investigated. Even a study is performed on the usage of different beam theories and their uncertain responses due to dynamic impulse load. A study is also conducted to analyze the wave propagation response In a composite structure in an uncertain environment using Neumann expansion blended with Monte-Carlo simulation (NE-MCS) under the environment of SFEM. Neumann expansion method accelerates the MCS, which is required for composites as there are many number of uncertain variables. The effect of the parameters like, fiber orientation, lay-up sequence, number of layers and the layer thickness on the uncertain responses due to dynamic impulse load, is thoroughly analyzed. Finally, a probabilistic sensitivity analysis is performed to estimate the sensitivity of uncertain material and fabrication parameters, on the SFEM based damage models for a porous laminated composite beam. MCS is coupled with SFEM, for the uncertain wave propagation analysis and the Kullback-Leibler relative entropy is used as the measure of sensitivity. The sensitivity of different input variables on the wave number, group speed and the values of DFI, are mainly considered in this study. The thesis, written in nine chapters, presents a unified document on wave propagation in healthy and defective composite structure subjected to both deterministic and highly uncertain environment.

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Composite structures can lower the weight of an airliner significantly. Due to the higher process complexity and the high material cost, however, the low weight often comes with a significant increase in production cost. The application of cost-effective design strategies is one mean to meet this challenge. In this thesis, a simplified form of direct operating cost is suggested as a comparative value that in combination with multidisciplinary optimization enables the evaluation of a design solution in terms of cost and weight. The proposed cost optimization framework takes into account the manufacturing cost, the non-destructive testing cost and the lifetime fuel consumption based on the weight of the aircraft, thus using a simplified version of the direct operating cost as the objective function. The manufacturing cost can be estimated by means of different techniques. For the proposed optimization framework, feature-based parametric cost models prove to be most suitable. Paper A contains a parametric study in which a skin/stringer panel is optimized for a series of cost/weight ratios (weight penalties) and material configurations. The weight penalty (defined as the specific lifetime fuel burn) is dependent on the fuel consumption of the aircraft, the fuel price and the viewpoint of the optimizer. It is concluded that the ideal choice of the design solution is neither low-cost nor low-weight but rather a combination thereof. Paper B proposes the inclusion of non-destructive testing cost in the design process of composite components, and the adjustment of the design strength of each laminate according to inspection parameters. Hence, the scan pitch of the ultrasonic testing is regarded as a variable, representing an index for the guaranteed material quality. It is shown that the cost for non-destructive testing can be lowered if the quality level of the laminate is assigned and adjusted in an early design stage. In Paper C and Paper D the parameters of the manufacturing processes are upgraded during the cost optimization of the component. In Paper C, the framework is extended by the cost-efficient adaptation of parameters in order to reflect the situation when machining an aluminum component. For different weight penalties, the spar thickness and stringer geometry of the provided case study vary. In addition, another cutter is chosen with regard to the modified shape of the stringer. In Paper D, the methodology is extended to the draping of composite fabrics, thus optimizing not only the stacking layup, but also the draping strategy itself. As in the previous cases, the design alters for different settings of the weight penalty. In particular, one can see a distinct change in fiber layup between the minimum weight and the minimum cost solution. Paper E summarizes the work proposed in Papers A-D and provides a case study on a C-spar component. Five material systems are used for this case study and compared in terms of cost and weight. The case study shows the impact of the weight penalty, the material cost and the labor rate on the choice of the material system. For low weight penalties, for example, the aluminum spar is the most cost-effective solution. For high weight penalties, the RTM system is favorable. The paper also discusses shortcomings with the presented methodology and thereby opens up for future method developments. / QC 20100723 / European Framework Program 6, project ALCAS, AIP4-CT-2003-516092 / Nationella flygtekniska forskningsprogrammet (NFFP) 4, project kostnadseffektiv kompositstruktur (KEKS)

<p dir="ltr">Composite materials have gained popularity and favor in the aviation and aerospace industries. Their distinctive blend of properties transformed the design and material selection of aircraft and spacecraft, providing significant advantages in terms of weight reduction, fuel efficiency, structural integrity, and environmental sustainability. While multiple automated technologies for composite manufacturing, such as the AFP/ATL machine's robotic arms, are currently being used in the industry, manual layup is still the primary choice for complicated geometry and small-scale manufacturing. For manual layup assistance, physical templates and a laser projector can assist the laminator for ply placement. However, physical templates can be costly, complicated to manufacture, and inefficient. On the other hand, the implementation of laser projection can assist the laminator with ply placement seed point identification and eliminate the need for a physical template, making it a more sustainable option. This study is designed to determine whether the laser projector can assist the laminator in ensuring a constant overlap length, which might improve material structural performance and reduce manufacturing time.</p>