Impact localization on a composite fuselage with a sparse network of accelerometers

Abstract

This paper focuses on the localization of impacts applied on a composite aircraft by using low sampling frequency accelerometers. A new vibration-based approach using a modal model of the aircraft on ground is described to localize the impact on the cylindrical fuselage. Axial localization is achieved by estimating the contributions of specific vibration modes to the response. Angular localization is achieved by estimating the impact force direction. An impact test campaign is performed on an Airbus A350-900 equipped with only six accelerometers. Fifty percent of the applied impacts are localized within 2 m and more than 90% within 3 m.

Keywords

• Inverse problem
• Vibration analysis
• Impact localization
• Structural health monitoring
• Composite fuselage