STRUCTURAL HEALTH MONITORING SYSTEMS AS A FLAW DETECTION FOR SPOT - WELDING ON AIR- CRAFT FUSLAGE

Multi-site fatigue damage, hidden cracks in hard-to-reach locations, disbonded joints, impact, and corrosion are among the major flaws encountered in today’s extensive array of aerospace vehicles and civil structures. Reliable, structural health monitoring systems can automatically process real-time data, assess structural condition, and signal the need for human intervention. Prevention of unexpected flaw growth and structural failure could be improved if on-board health monitoring systems are used to continuously assess structural integrity. Such systems would be able to detect incipient damage before catastrophic failures occurs.