Wireless Assessment of Damage During Manufacturing

Description:

Reference #: 01184

 

The University of South Carolina is offering licensing opportunities for a non-intrusive (wireless) method for the detection and classification of damage that may occur during the manufacturing process of composite or metallic structures, with a focus on aircraft.

 

Invention Description:

 

The invention is an approach and associated algorithms for the detection and classification of damage that may occur during manufacturing of aircraft. Such damage includes but is not limited to impact due to tool drops and/or rolling impacts, delaminations, changes in the acoustic signature of machinery during manufacturing, fiber breakage, fiber matrix disbanding, matrix cracking, and other mechanisms.

 

Potential Applications:

 

Potential industrial applications include the manufacturing of composite and metallic and hybrid (composite/metallic) aircraft.

 

Advantages and Benefits:

 

This technology may detect anomalies in a global sense during the fabrication process. Wireless acoustic emission sensors are strategically placed on composite components (or machinery) during the fabrication process itself.

 

Background:

 

Unintended impact may degrade the strength/serviceability of composite components. The resulting damage due to impact events may not be immediately understood, and in some cases may not be reported. Rapid assessment will aid in the repair process (in the event that repair is needed).

Correlations between stress waves generated by impact and resulting implications for damage/degradation are not currently understood. Furthermore, the use of battery-powered wireless technology (which is useful in industrial plants) limits the acoustic emission dataset.

 

Patent Information:
For Information, Contact:
Technology Commercialization
University of South Carolina
technology@sc.edu
Inventors:
Paul Ziehl
Keywords:
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