Health monitoring of composite repairs and joints using optical fibres

With the increasing use of composite bonded repairs to ageing aircraft there is a growing need to monitor their in-service health. One approach is to incorporate various in situ health monitoring systems within the repair. This paper summarises a collaborative research program between the Australian Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO) and the DSTO Centre of Expertise in Structural Mechanics at Monash University into the use of optical fibre sensors to monitor the structural health of composite repairs and composite joints.