Analysis and Modeling of Small Crack Detectionin Pressurized Fuselages for Structural Health Monitoring Applications (preprint)

This effort explores the evolution and characterization of structural cracks in aircraft fuselage structures in which the loads are varying. During flight, an aircraft fuselage skin and structure are subjected to varied cyclic loads, which can cause embedded cracks and other damage features to change their characteristics due to loading effects. The current research uses finite element modeling and experimental techniques to characterize the behavior of cracks under different static loads, with the goal of understanding the interaction of ultrasonic energy with opening-closing crack features. Specimen testing under tensile loads were considered, where crack detection and crack characterization were studied for bonded piezoelectric sensing and guided ultrasonic waves useful in structural health monitoring applications. The results suggest that crack detection and crack sizing accuracy can be impacted by load-induced, crack openingclosure effects, where linear elastic loading of the structure resulted in linear changes in the ultrasonic signal response.