Adaptive Multigrid Methods for Fluid-Structure Interaction (FSI) Optimization in an Aircraft and design of integrated Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) Systems

Nowadays, advanced composite materials such as carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP) are being applied to many aircraft structures in order to improve performance and reduce weight. Most composites have strong, stiff fibres in a matrix which is weaker and less stiff. However, aircraft wings can break due to Fluid-Structure Interaction (FSI) oscillations or material fatigue. Material inspection by piezoelectric induced ultrasonic waves is a relatively new and an intelligent technique to monitor the health of CFRP for damage detection in Non-Destructive Test (NDT). To design a Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) systems, it is important to understand phenomenologically and quantitatively wave propagation in CFRP and the influence of the geomaterial and mechanical properties of the structures. The principal aim of this research is to explore and understand the behaviour of engineering artefacts in a maritime environment, with a view to better integrating their design and operation from safety and economic viewpoints. To accelerate the design of SHM systems, the FSI effect on the wave propagation has to considered. Due to the nonlinear properties of fluids and solids as well as the shape of the structures, only numerical approaches can be used to solve FSI and wave propagation problems. Part of this research will focus on the analysis of Navier-Stokes and equations of elastodynamics in the arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) framework, simultaneously we will study the mathematical modeling and numerical approximation of the propagation of time-harmonic elastic waves in a CFRP composite material. Also this project aims to develope efficient numerical methods for fluid-structure interaction and wave propagation phenomena, which combine modern techniques from PDE-constrained optimization, adaptive and multigrid simulation methods.