KEYWORDS: Connectors, Calibration, Structural health monitoring, Interfaces, Missiles, Sensors, Data modeling, Motion measurement, Signal to noise ratio, Diagnostics
For future structural health monitoring (SHM) systems, the knowledge of past and present operational loads in the form
of forces/moments at critical system interfaces will be invaluable for performing accurate prognostics and augmenting
SHM capabilities. However, this information is not a direct product of traditional operational loads monitoring (OLM)
techniques employed on current fleet aircraft and is not easily achieved using existing force measurement devices. In
recognition of this limitation, this paper addresses the development of an accurate in-situ multiaxis force measurement
system for directly monitoring dynamic operational loads at critical mechanical interfaces without altering the existing
connector architecture.
The proposed methodology utilizes a strain gage-based measurement technique in which a series of sensors is calibrated
with a set of known loading configurations. The sensitivity matrix relating the measured strains to the loads forms the
core of the system. The feasibility of the proposed technique was demonstrated both analytically and experimentally on a
representative aircraft weapon store/rail interface exhibiting nonlinearity in the system. The results are conclusive in that
the outlined trained network approach is able to accurately predict all six force/moment interface loads with less than 8
percent total error under various loading conditions.
Bladed disks and turbine wheels in jet engines may after a certain period of service degrade into a condition called mistuning, whereby these cyclically symmetric structures lose their symmetric dynamic properties, leading to imbalance, loss of performance, and ultimately to failure. This paper describes a diagnostic procedure whereby such mistuning may be detected in its early stages, allowing for the scheduled maintenance and replacement of these critical parts.
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