This proposal addressed the development and real time test validation of an integrated hardware and software environment that will be able to measure real-time in-situ strain and deformation fields using a state-of-the-art wireless sensor system to enhance structural durability and damage tolerance (D&DT), reliability via real-time structural health monitoring (SHM) for sensorised aerospace structures. The tool is a vital added extension of existing suite of structural health monitoring (SHM) and diagnostic prognostic system (DPS). The goal of the extended SHM-DPS is to apply a multi-scale nonlinear physics-based finite element analyses (FEA) to the 'as-is' structural configuration to determine multi-site damage evolution, residual strength, remaining service life, and future inspection intervals and procedures.

The proposed approach has enabled active monitoring of aerospace structural component performance and realisation of DPS-based conditioned based maintenance. Software enhancements incorporated information from a distributed sensor network system. A DPS application case study used a realistic composite stiffened panel representative of fuselage/wing components. Two stiffened panels were manufactured and instrumented; a) embedded internally between composite layers, and b) surface mounted with an optimized distribution of wireless sensors. The panels were tested in compression following low-velocity impact. The sensor system output were integrated with a FEA tool to determine the multi-site damage locations, and associated failure mechanisms, residual strength, remaining service life, and future inspection interval. The FEA utilised the web based GENOA commercial software capable of evaluating both metallic and advanced composite structural panels under service loading conditions. The proposal utilised a building block validation strategy, and real-time structural health monitoring system.