Assessment of Damage in Composite Pressure Vessels Using Guided Waves

Area of Science:

• Aerospace Engineering
• Materials Science
• Non-destructive Testing

Background:

• Composite overwrapped pressure vessels (COPVs) are crucial for space applications due to their high performance.
• COPVs are susceptible to impact damage from space debris, posing a significant risk.
• Existing structural health monitoring (SHM) methods for COPVs are limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and verify a guided wave-based SHM system for COPVs.
• To address the challenges of damage mechanics and impact detection in COPVs.
• To enhance the reliability and probability of detection for impact-induced damage.

Main Methods:

• Experimental derivation of wave propagation characteristics for the fundamental anti-symmetric mode.
• Validation of finite element models for simulating wave interaction with damage.
• Application of signal processing techniques and multi-parameter metric fusion.

Main Results:

• Signal processing techniques show sensitivity to defects and linear dependence on damage severity.
• Validated finite element models accurately predict wave interaction with damage.
• Metric fusion enhances damage detection capabilities and probability of detection.

Conclusions:

• Guided wave SHM is a promising technology for detecting impact damage in space COPVs.
• The developed system demonstrates reliable damage detection and localization.
• The multi-parameter approach significantly improves the overall diagnostic performance.