SAFE-FLY — European industrial doctorate for damage modelling and online detection in aerospace composite structures

Results in brief

European industrial doctorate for damage modelling and online detection in aerospace composite structures

Modern aeronautical structures are increasingly made of composite layered materials due to their well-known benefits. Composite structures however may exhibit a great variety of structural failure scenarios. Delamination, Fibre Breakage, Matrix Cracking and Debonding are the most commonly occurring failure modes. Certain aircraft parts are more susceptible to specific damage types (e.g. the lower part of the fuselage is more vulnerable to buckling induced deformations, while the upper is more susceptible to cracks) and have to be regularly inspected. There is an urgent and genuine need for development of reliable, accurate and lightweight systems for online structural integrity inspection in modern aeronautical structures. SAFE-FLY aimed to deliver valuable, original technological tools for satisfying the industrial needs by focusing on: • The development of novel, accurate mathematical descriptions for modelling the failure modes that can occur within composite structural segments. • Development of novel methodological approaches for identifying damage in composite layered segments by means of ultrasonic guided waves (GWs). The aim was to achieve faster and more accurate identification of structural failure enabling: • Increase of the awareness on structural integrity for the pilot and the engineers. • Increase of the availability of the aircraft. • Decrease of the inspection related aircraft’s cost with simultaneous financial benefits for the operator and/or the passengers.

Data: CORDIS, © European Union

Project objective

Modern aeronautical structures are increasingly made of composite materials due to their well-known benefits. Composite materials have however a wide range of possible failure modes, implying lengthy and expensive structural inspection processes for modern aircrafts. Ultrasonic guided wave technologies are nowadays confined in baseline subtraction approaches, where structural damage can be detected but not identified. This is due to lack of efficient techniques for predicting wave interaction with damage in composite structures.A genuine need is therefore identified for a programme that will: i)Develop, deliver and implement novel SHM technological tools within the European aerospace industry, ii)Nurture and train the next European generation of SHM research professionals. SAFE-FLY has an intensely intersectoral character engaging a European leading aerospace industry (ANOVA) and an academic research team at the forefront of aerospace innovation (UNOTT). It also has an intensely multi-disciplinary character, coupling expertise from mechanical, civil and electronic engineering, as well as from the area of applied mathematics.On the research side, SAFE-FLY will focus on developing multiscale models for obtaining a comprehensive description of damage in a composite structural segment. Understanding the interaction of ultrasonic GW with such nonlinear damaged segments is another scientific challenge that the Network will tackle. SAFE-FLY aims at developing reliable tools for predicting the reflection, conversion and transmission of each GW type, when impacting on the damaged section.On the training side, SAFE-FLY will provide a fully supportive environment for 3 ESRs. A training programme aiming at developing both the research as well as the transferable skills of the Fellows has been designed. All Fellows will have the opportunity to work in a multi-disciplinary environment, spending at least 50% of their time at the premises of the industrial beneficiary.

Original text from CORDIS.

Participants

THE UNIVERSITY OF NOTTINGHAM · NottinghamCoordinatorUnited Kingdom
AERNNOVA ENGINEERING DIVISION SAU · VITORIA GASTEIZSpain
THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA · OaklandUnited States
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA · ColumbiaUnited States

SAFE-FLY · European industrial doctorate for damage modelling and online detection in aerospace composite structures

Results in brief

European industrial doctorate for damage modelling and online detection in aerospace composite structures

Project objective

Participants

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