Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference:	GR/R18796/01
Title:	Impact Damage Detection In Composite Structures Using Smart Sensor Technology
Principal Investigator:	Staszewski, Professor WJ
Other Investigators:	Worden, Professor K
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:	Stanford University
Department:	Mechanical Engineering
Organisation:	University of Sheffield
Scheme:	Standard Research (Pre-FEC)
Starts:	01 December 2000	Ends:	31 December 2001	Value (£):	23,843
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:	Materials Characterisation
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:
Related Grants:
Panel History:
Summary on Grant Application Form
Impact damage is one the major concerns in maintenance and continuous health monitoring of composite structures. There is a strong evidence that the extent of damage can be correlated with impact energy. The preliminary results of impact damage detection are so far very limited and show that sensor technology and intelligent processing of sensor data are the most important elements of structural health monitoring systems for composite materials. The smart layer sensor technology (dielectric films with a network of distributed microscopic piezoceramic devices, embedded in composite materials) developed at Stanford University, indicates its great potential for structural damage detection. Unfortunately, this technology is not available in the UK. Various signal processing techniques for damage detection have been developed at Sheffield University. It appears that most of these developments can provide intelligent signal processing for smart layer sensors. A simple experiment will be performed to demonstrate impact damage detection in composite structures using the above developments. The strain data gathered from smart piezoceramic sensors will be compressed using the wavelet-based compression algorithm. A number of data features will be established from the orthogonal wavelet transform of the compressed data. A neural network will be used for impact damage location and quantification. The composite plate will be finally set up at Stanford University s an on-line demonstrator. This collaborative research project, performed by final year undergraduate students will be enhanced by two exchange study visits by staff members to discuss future collaboration between both partners.
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Organisation Website:	http://www.shef.ac.uk