On-line health monitoring of aeronautical structures using a vibration-based method

The aim of this paper is to apply to a typical aeronautical structure a Vibration Based Method which detects damage in structures when a 'description of normality' is provided. A model of the primary structure of a wing is developed such that damage of different extent and type can be introduced. Despite the only slight modification of the dynamic behaviour of the wing due to the presence of the fault, numerical simulations demonstrate that damage of moderate extent in spar-flanges can be detected using this technique even if the dynamic characteristics vary due to changes in the mass of the fuel