New structural health monitoring technologies can detect aircraft damage in real time and even predict failures

All kinds of engineering infrastructures undergo aging, and damage appears as a consequence of the loads applied to them, so inspection and maintenance actions are required to predict and lengthen their lifetime thus avoiding catastrophic failures. Due to the harsh conditions suffered by aircraft structures, periodic and scheduled inspection and maintenance tasks are essential for safe and efficient operation. The cost for the personnel needed to carry out these procedures is high, but the cost due to aircraft downtime during these time-consuming inspections is significantly greater.