The proposal was addressed to the exploitation of fibre optic based sensor for structural health monitoring of aeronautic structures and materials. The activity plan was organised in three tasks, according to the call description. The first activity was focused on preliminary research on the use of Fibre Optic Bragg Grating (FOBG) sensors for the strain evaluation during a fatigue test on metallic samples in corrosive environment, with the aim to define and characterise a new experimental methodology capable to provide an innovative tool for the prediction of corrosion initiation. The second activity was addressed to the demonstration of a new approach for the realization and test of an apparatus for FOBG sensors interrogation. The task was motivated by the need to identify a robust and reliable instrumentation for flight test campaign.

Starting from results of previous experimental campaign carried out together with Alenia, the actions to develop were devoted to the identification of a new class of commercial devices and/or systems for the integration of a novel instrumentation which should be qualified for flight test campaign and, at the same time, must provide higher performances than conventional equipments. The third research activity was aimed to the development of a distributed strain and temperature sensing system based on standard optical fibre employment. The scattering effects (Raman, Brillouin, Rayleigh…) on the basis of this new technique was analysed and prototypal and commercial solution, already certified for laboratory application, was evaluated. The distributed technique was tested during ground test campaign, with the aim to reach performances comparable to these typical of FOBG based discrete sensing systems. In conclusion, the proposal aimed to provide theoretical and experimental support for the exploitation of new technologies for the realization of smart materials and structures.