Structural Health Monitoring Using Neural Network Based Vibrational System Identification

Composite fabrication technologies now provide the means for producing high-strength, low-weight panels, plates, spars and other structural components which use embedded fiber optic sensors and piezoelectric transducers. These materials, often referred to as smart structures, make it possible to sense internal characteristics, such as delaminations or structural degradation. In this effort we use neural network based techniques for modeling and analyzing dynamic structural information for recognizing structural defects. This yields an adaptable system which gives a measure of structural integrity for composite structures.