System monitors health of composite military missiles.(TESTING/CHARACTERIZATION)

Advanced Materials & Processes, June, 2007

A monitoring system in which a mathematical model pinpoints the location and severity of impacts on composite missile casings based on vibration data collected by a sensor called a triaxial accelerometer has reportedly been developed at Purdue University, West Lafayette, Ind. The casings are made out of carbon fibers, Kevlar, or other materials wound in layers.

When engineers strike the casing at various points with a hammer, vibrations travel through the structure and are recorded by the sensor. The triaxial accelerometer measures vibrations from three directions. Data from those measurements serve as the basis to fine tune a mathematical model needed for the monitoring system. Recent findings indicate the system effectively tracks the location and severity of...

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