Impact monitoring of the aircraft composite structure using FBG sensor/PZT actuator hybrid sensor system

This article reports the results of a study regarding the development of a system to detect the impact damage in composite materials, which is a critical issue concerning aircraft structure. The authors developed a system that could detect the occurrence and growth of damage in composite materials using an FBG optical fiber/PZT actuator hybrid sensor system. In this research, the authors investigate whether or not this system can be used for the detection of both the impact and the damage generated as its result; this system was developed for detecting damages such as the delamination and debonding of the aircraft structure. Basically, the obtained results indicate that the developed damage monitoring system could receive elastic waves that were generated by impacts at energies up to 26.4 J and could also detect the impact damage. These results indicate the possibility of two application by the same system construction by which the damage monitoring using the FBG and PZT hybrid sensor system can detect both the occurrence and growth of damage and the impacts and the damage generated as its result.