Load Monitoring – "intelligent" aircraft wing gauges strains in case of overload

Today's aircraft are in use almost 24 hours a day. Functional reliability and operational safety are achieved by international maintenance standards for each component. In the future, sensor systems could assist the operators in monitoring, for example, aircraft wings.

“Sensors inside the wing measure cyclically-occurring structural strains. This generates load and stress data, which enable design engineers to tap the full potential of lightweight constructions in airplanes to reduce fuel consumption and noxious emissions,” explains Dr. Andreas Büter, head of Lightweight Structures at the Fraunhofer LBF.

By sensory monitoring of aircraft parts, the assessment of residual fatigue life of components, for instance, after the occurrence of extreme loads, should become possible. Furthermore, time and cost-intensive maintenance cycles could be optimized.

Cell during fair: +49 172 618 423 9, Anke Zeidler-Finsel