Structure health monitoring system and method
First Claim
1. A structure health monitoring system for an apparatus, said structure health monitoring system comprising:
- at least one sensor configured to provide sensor data indicative of the structural integrity of a component of said apparatus;
first processing logic for processing said sensor data to obtain an initial damage estimate for said component;
a baseline update element configured to store and update a damage estimate baseline for said component; and
second processing logic for generating an intermediate damage estimate for said component in response to said initial damage estimate and in response to said damage estimate baseline, wherein the intermediate damage estimate serves as an input for a data fusion, trending, and tracking element.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A structure health monitoring (“SHM”) system according to the invention can be deployed in an onboard environment, such as an aircraft, to provide an ongoing damage assessment of structural components on the aircraft. The SHM system reduces or eliminates time consuming and costly manual inspections of aircraft. The SHM system can leverage known sensor technologies to collect sensor data indicative of the structural health of the monitored components. The sensor data is processed and baselined with sensor feature baselines and damage estimate baselines to provide an accurate final damage estimate for the monitored component. The final damage estimate can be further processed or formatted for compatibility with aircraft maintenance systems.
46 Citations
7 Claims
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1. A structure health monitoring system for an apparatus, said structure health monitoring system comprising:
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at least one sensor configured to provide sensor data indicative of the structural integrity of a component of said apparatus; first processing logic for processing said sensor data to obtain an initial damage estimate for said component; a baseline update element configured to store and update a damage estimate baseline for said component; and second processing logic for generating an intermediate damage estimate for said component in response to said initial damage estimate and in response to said damage estimate baseline, wherein the intermediate damage estimate serves as an input for a data fusion, trending, and tracking element. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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Specification