Modern aircrafts use a large amount of composite
materials
because of their light weight and high strength properties. Composite
materials
are unfortunately susceptible to internal damages from impacts to the
structure. In many situations, there may not be visible external
indications of
the damages. We are developing signal
processing algorithms to detect, locate and characterize (for example,
estimate
the damage outline and damage type) such damages using arrays of
ultrasonic transducers
embedded in the structure. The ultimate goal of the work is to
facilitate unsupervised
repair and maintenance decisions based on quick ultrasonic
interrogation of the
aircraft. Professor Mathews spent 2006 and 2007 working closely with
engineers at the Boeing Company on this topic while on leave from the
University of Utah. We are collaborating with Professor Dan Adams
(Mechanical Engineering) on problems in this area.