Article
Internal Damage Detection of Composite Structures Using
Passive RFID Tag Antenna Deformation Method:
Basic Research
Pavol Pecho
1,
* , Michal Hrúz
1
, Andrej Novák
1
and Libor Trško
2
Citation: Pecho, P.; Hrúz, M.; Novák,
A.; Trško, L. Internal Damage
Detection of Composite Structures
Using Passive RFID Tag Antenna
Deformation Method: Basic Research.
Sensors 2021, 21, 8236. https://
doi.org/10.3390/s21248236
Academic Editors: Hamed Badihi,
Tao Chen, Ningyun Lu and
Antonio Lázaro
Received: 9 October 2021
Accepted: 7 December 2021
Published: 9 December 2021
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1
Air Transport Department, University of Zilina, Univerzitna 8215/1, 010 26 Zilina, Slovakia;
michal.hruz@stud.uniza.sk (M.H.); andrej.novak@fpedas.uniza.sk (A.N.)
2
Research Centre, University of Zilina, Univerzitna 8215/1, 010 26 Zilina, Slovakia; libor.trsko@uniza.sk
* Correspondence: pavol.pecho@fpedas.uniza.sk; Tel.: +421-41-513-34-66
Abstract:
This manuscript deals with the detection of internal cracks and defects in aeronautical
fibreglass structures. In technical practice, it is problematic to accurately determine the service life or
MTBF (Mean Time Between Failure) of composite materials by the methods used in metallic materials.
The problem is mainly the inhomogeneous and anisotropic structure of composites, possibly due
to the differences in the macrostructure during production, production processes, etc. Diagnostic
methods for detecting internal cracks and damage are slightly different, and in practice, it is more
difficult to detect defects using non-destructive testing (NDT). The article deals with the use of
Radio frequency identification (RFID) technology integrated in the fibreglass laminates of aircraft
structures to detect internal defects based on deformation behaviour of passive RFID tag antenna.
The experiments proved the potential of using RFID technology in fibreglass composite laminates
when using tensile tests applied on specimens with different structural properties. Therefore, the
implementation of passive RFID tags into fibreglass composite structures presents the possibilities of
detecting internal cracks and structural health monitoring. The result and conclusion of the basic
research is determination of the application conditions for our proposed technology in practice.
Moreover, the basic research provides recommendations for the applied research in terms of the use
in real composite airframe structures.
Keywords:
RFID; tensile test; fibreglass; aircraft maintenance; failure detection; crack detection;
composite structure
1. Introduction
To begin with, the superior mechanical properties of composite materials guarantee
their application in numerous industry sectors. Unlike the lightweight metal alloys, the
advantage of composites lies in their weight saving potential, high strength, and stiffness
with the ability to be specifically manufactured or tailored with the anisotropic properties
for their specific applications [
1
,
2
]. In general, the composite structure is defined by the
combination of two different materials representing the matrix and reinforcing element,
together enhancing the overall structural performance [
3
]. The most applied composites
for primary and secondary structures of commercial and military aircraft in the aviation
are carbon fibre reinforced polymers (CFRP) and glass fibre reinforced polymers (GFRP).
These composites contain extremely thin carbon or glass fibres in polymeric matrices [
2
].
Today’s commercial aircraft structures, mainly due to the reliability and cost-effectiveness
consists mostly of composites usually applied on exposed, load carrying surfaces which
are prone to damage thus requiring a regular maintenance [
4
]. Airbus and Boeing, the
world’s leading aircraft manufacturers, estimated a doubling of the aircraft fleet until
the year 2035 compared to 2016 [
5
]. Modern widebody aircraft, such as the Boeing 787
Dreamliner and the Airbus A350, are made of more than 50% carbon fibre composite [
6
].
Sensors 2021, 21, 8236. https://doi.org/10.3390/s21248236 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/sensors
