A computer program entitled SHARP (structural health assessment and review program) has been developed to demonstrate smart structures concepts for automated aircraft health monitoring. SHARP is an object-oriented design, combining C++ and FORTRAN routines d veloped and implemented on a Motorola 68030 platform. SHARP combines unique analytic flaw generation algorithms with more traditional durability and damage tolerance routines to process data from a variety of sensors (acoustic emission, strain, acceleration etc.) and assess the aircraft's structural integrity. This paper outlines the basic system architecture, program assumptions and constraints. The analytic methods used to monitor aircraft structural integrity are then discussed in the context of current military aircraft structural integrity programs (ASIP). Finally, the potential payoffs of an on-board structural health monitoring system (SHMS) are investigated.
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