Structural Health Monitoring – Its Association and Use

Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) is an expression being around for more than two decades now. Triggered by damage tolerant design where damage has to be inspected at defined intervals based on non-destructive testing (NDT) techniques modern sensing hardware may now be integrated into structural materials and combined with advanced signal processing software making NDT to become an integral part of materials and structures and hence conventional inspection processes to be automated. This chapter provides an insight into the background of and the motivation for SHM by describing needs and assumptions made when designing a damage tolerant structure. It explains the need for loads monitoring and the implications those loads have on damage such as fatigue propagating during a structure’s operational life. NDT techniques with a specific potential for SHM are addressed including their impact on monitoring carbon-fibre reinforced composites being one of the different material types where SHM plays a significant role. Finally some outlook is made with regard to SHM implementation and the benefits to be gained where examples have been taken from aviation and some outlook is provided considering SHM applications in wind energy generation.