Nonlinear structural intensity (NSI) and nonlinear structural surface intensity (NSSI) based damage detection techniques were improved and extended to metal and composite airframe structures. In this study, the measurement of NSI maps at sub-harmonic frequencies was completed to provide enhanced understanding of the energy flow characteristics associated with the damage induced contact acoustic nonlinearity mechanism. Important results include NSI source localization visualization at ultra-subharmonic (nf/2) frequencies, and damage detection results utilizing structural surface intensity in the nonlinear domain. A detection metric relying on modulated wave spectroscopy was developed and implemented using the NSSI feature. The data fusion of the intensity formulation provided a distinct advantage, as both the single interrogation frequency NSSI and its modulated wave extension (NSSI-MW) exhibited considerably higher sensitivities to damage than using single-sensor (strain or acceleration) nonlinear detection metrics. The active intensity based techniques were also extended to composite materials, and results show both NSSI and NSSI-MW can be used to detect damage in the bond line of an integrally stiffened composite plate structure with high sensitivity. Initial damage detection measurements made on an OH-58 tailboom (Penn State Applied Research Laboratory, State College, PA) indicate the techniques can be transitioned to complex airframe structures achieving high detection sensitivities with minimal sensors and actuators.

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Fluidic flexible matrix composite (F2MC) tubes are a novel type of lightweight, low-profile passive fluidic vibration treatments for structures. Two pairs of F2MC tubes are installed onto a laboratory-scale helicopter tailboom structure and interconnected through a fluidic circuit, resulting in a tuned vibration absorber. The experimental frequency response of the absorber-treated tailboom shows a response amplitude reduction of over 70% for the first vertical bending mode. By partially restricting flow through an orifice in the fluidic circuit, a damped absorber is achieved that adds nearly 8% damping to the first vertical bending mode. The effect of fluid prepressure and tailboom forcing amplitude are also studied. The experimental results show excellent agreement with model predictions.

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