SmartCM: Application of structural health monitoring using Lamb waves in developing smart composite material structures for the automotive industry

SmartCM: Application of structural health monitoring using Lamb waves in developing smart composite material structures for the automotive industry


SmartCMApplication of structural health monitoring using Lamb waves in developing smart composite material structures for the automotive industry
Funding agency: RDI
Project's coordinator: F. Ghananmeh
UIR project's team: M. F. Ghanameh, E. Essadiqi, M. Faqir, O. Almatbagi, H. Chouiyakh, A. Abosbaia, A.Saouab(Internship Student), M.Zerkti El Ayadi (Internship Student)
Budget: 108000 Dh
Duration : 3 years
Abstract: Mechanical structures and aerodynamics of road vehicles are considered as main elements of the automotive systems. These structures and aerodynamics play very important roles. The most important role of current mechanical structures is to protect the lives of peoples, goods, and nature. The structures must absorb the shock in case of accidents, which requires the use of mechanical structures adapted to different operating conditions. Besides, the development of electric powered system drives the design for structure lightening; that means, mechanical structures are becoming more and more a complex structure that needs to work robustly for many years. The development of such kind of structure requires the development of "intelligent" mechanical structures, capable of giving an artificial sensing of the environment, taking into account: the complexity of the lightening of these structures on one side and the ability to absorb the mechanical energy of the shock by preferential deformation. This can be ensured by the development of a new class of functionalized composite materials for securing and controlling the structures in which they are used. These new adaptive composites (based on natural fiber) will need to be able to detect and respond to their environments in a predictable and controlled manner, integrating different elements, such as sensors, actuators, power sources, signal processing, and a communications network. In addition to supporting mechanical loads, distributed intelligent structures can reduce their vibrations and acoustic noise, measure their operating conditions and environment, change their shape or mechanical properties accordingly. In other hand, drag reduction of the road vehicle is of paramount importance to improve the environmental and economic impact of the vehicles. The project combines of three important aspects:
  • Structural health monitoring SHM using lamb wave detectors that can give the mechanical structures a feeling about what happened around and give the inspectors an idea about what happened inside these structures
  • Developing a composite material based on natural fiber that helps to solve many problems related to using the natural fiber instead of industrial fiber, helping to get rid of tons and tons of the natural wastes, where Moroccan nature is very reach in natural plants and the disposing of them is very important for the environment; on the other hand, the developed composite material will take in consideration the light-weighting of the mechanical structures leading to decreasing the energy consumption;
  • Aerodynamic Analyses of the mechanical structures used in the automotive, aeronautic and energetic industries; in order to develop a relationship between the aerodynamic profile, external loads generated by the aerodynamic flow and the detectability of this load by the sensors Implemented internally in the mechanical structures, in order to improve the efficiency of the energy.
Consortium: International University of Rabat (UIR)
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