Dr. Amrita Kumar Profile

Dr. Amrita Kumar

Executive Vice President at

SPIE Involvement:

Conference Program Committee | Author

Area of Expertise:

Structural Health Monitoring

Publications (12)

PROCEEDINGS ARTICLE | April 9, 2010

Autonomous self-powered structural health monitoring system

Proc. SPIE. 7650, Health Monitoring of Structural and Biological Systems 2010

KEYWORDS: Phase modulation, Sensors, Solar cells, Composites, Computing systems, Diagnostics, Amplifiers, Sensor networks, Energy harvesting, Structural health monitoring

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PROCEEDINGS ARTICLE | April 8, 2008

SMART solutions for composite structures

Proc. SPIE. 6934, Nondestructive Characterization for Composite Materials, Aerospace Engineering, Civil Infrastructure, and Homeland Security 2008

KEYWORDS: Switches, Detection and tracking algorithms, Sensors, Metals, Composites, Diagnostics, Sensor networks, Structural health monitoring, Damage detection, Temperature metrology

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PROCEEDINGS ARTICLE | April 27, 2007

A new SMART sensing system for aerospace structures

Proc. SPIE. 6561, Unmanned Systems Technology IX

KEYWORDS: Unmanned aerial vehicles, Sensors, Composites, Inspection, Diagnostics, Sensor networks, Data acquisition, Structural health monitoring, Sensing systems, Unmanned vehicles

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PROCEEDINGS ARTICLE | April 19, 2007

Responsive satellites and the need for structural health monitoring

Proc. SPIE. 6531, Nondestructive Characterization for Composite Materials, Aerospace Engineering, Civil Infrastructure, and Homeland Security 2007

KEYWORDS: Sensors, Satellites, Diagnostics, Signal processing, Structural health monitoring, Satellite communications, Connectors, Analytical research, Space operations, 3D displays

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PROCEEDINGS ARTICLE | May 10, 2006

Impact detection and analysis/health monitoring system for composites

Proc. SPIE. 6222, Sensors for Propulsion Measurement Applications

KEYWORDS: Rockets, Sensors, Calibration, Composites, Manufacturing

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PROCEEDINGS ARTICLE | March 30, 2006

In situ monitoring of the integrity of bonded repair patches on aircraft and civil infrastructures

Proc. SPIE. 6179, Advanced Sensor Technologies for Nondestructive Evaluation and Structural Health Monitoring II

KEYWORDS: Ferroelectric materials, Sensors, Metals, Composites, Inspection, Diagnostics, Signal processing, Structural health monitoring, Data centers, Adhesives

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Monitoring the continued health of aircraft subsystems and identifying problems before they affect airworthiness has been a long-term goal of the aviation industry. Because in-service conditions and failure modes experienced by structures are generally complex and unknown, conservative calendar-based or usage-based scheduled maintenance practices are overly time-consuming, labor-intensive and expensive. Metal structures such as helicopters and other transportation systems are likely to develop fatigue cracks under cyclic loads and corrosive service environments. Early detection of cracks is a key element to prevent catastrophic failure and prolong structural life. Furthermore, as structures age, maintenance service frequency and costs increase while performance and availability decrease. Current non-destructive inspection (NDI) techniques that can potentially be used for this purpose typically involve complex, time-intensive procedures, which are labor-intensive and expensive. Most techniques require access to the damaged area on at least one side, and sometimes on both sides. This can be very difficult for monitoring of certain inaccessible regions. In those cases, inspection may require removal of access panels or even structural disassembly. Once access has been obtained, automated inspection techniques likely will not be practical due to the bulk of the required equipment. Results obtained from these techniques may also be sensitive to the sweep speed, tool orientation, and downward pressure. This can be especially problematic for hand-held inspection tools where none of these parameters is mechanically controlled. As a result, data can vary drastically from one inspection to the next, from one technician to the next, and even from one sweep to the next. Structural health monitoring (SHM) offers the promise of a paradigm shift from schedule-driven maintenance to condition-based maintenance (CBM) of assets. Sensors embedded permanently in aircraft safety critical structures that can monitor damage can provide for improved reliability and streamlining of aircraft maintenance. Early detection of damage such as fatigue crack initiation can improve personnel safety and prolong service life. This paper presents the testing of an acousto-ultrasonic piezoelectric sensor based structural health monitoring system for real-time monitoring of fatigue cracks and disbonds in bonded repairs. The system utilizes a network of distributed miniature piezoelectric sensors/actuators embedded on a thin dielectric carrier film, to query, monitor and evaluate the condition of a structure. The sensor layers are extremely flexible and can be integrated with any type of metal or composite structure. Diagnostic signals obtained from a structure during structural monitoring are processed by a portable diagnostic unit. With appropriate diagnostic software, the signals can be analyzed to ascertain the integrity of the structure being monitored. Details on the system, its integration and examples of detection of fatigue crack and disbond growth and quantification for bonded repairs will be presented here.

PROCEEDINGS ARTICLE | May 17, 2005

High speed hybrid active system

Proc. SPIE. 5765, Smart Structures and Materials 2005: Sensors and Smart Structures Technologies for Civil, Mechanical, and Aerospace Systems

KEYWORDS: Actuators, Optical filters, Ferroelectric materials, Aerospace engineering, Fiber Bragg gratings, Sensors, Diagnostics, Ultrasonics, Fiber optics sensors, Aluminum

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PROCEEDINGS ARTICLE | May 5, 2005

Practical issues in real-world implementation of structural health monitoring systems

Proc. SPIE. 5762, Smart Structures and Materials 2005: Industrial and Commercial Applications of Smart Structures Technologies

KEYWORDS: Actuators, Sensors, Calibration, Composites, Reliability, Inspection, Sensor networks, Structural health monitoring, Active remote sensing, Environmental sensing

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PROCEEDINGS ARTICLE | July 14, 2004

Potential applications of SMART Layer technology for homeland security

Proc. SPIE. 5395, Nondestructive Detection and Measurement for Homeland Security II

KEYWORDS: Radar, Actuators, Homeland security, Sensors, Metals, Composites, Manufacturing, Inspection, Diagnostics, Missiles

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PROCEEDINGS ARTICLE | August 14, 2003

Monitoring the integrity of filament-wound structures using built-in sensor networks

Proc. SPIE. 5054, Smart Structures and Materials 2003: Industrial and Commercial Applications of Smart Structures Technologies

KEYWORDS: Rockets, Sensors, Composites, Manufacturing, Inspection, Diagnostics, Sensor networks, Domes, Aluminum, Prototyping

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PROCEEDINGS ARTICLE | July 15, 2002

Advances in utilization of structurally integrated sensor networks for health monitoring in commercial applications

Proc. SPIE. 4701, Smart Structures and Materials 2002: Smart Structures and Integrated Systems

KEYWORDS: Actuators, Aerospace engineering, Sensors, Composites, Manufacturing, Inspection, Diagnostics, Fiber optics sensors, Sensor networks, Structural health monitoring

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PROCEEDINGS ARTICLE | June 14, 2001

SMART Layer and SMART Suitcase for structural health monitoring applications

Proc. SPIE. 4332, Smart Structures and Materials 2001: Industrial and Commercial Applications of Smart Structures Technologies

KEYWORDS: Actuators, Safety, Sensors, Composites, Interfaces, Inspection, Diagnostics, Sensor networks, Signal processing, Structural health monitoring

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