Cost Benefits of Introducing Structural Health Monitoring in New Generation Aircraft

Abstract

Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) is increasingly regarded as a key enabling technology for future composite aircraft, not only for maintenance optimization but also for a possible re-interpretation of structural sizing constraints. In civil aviation, SHM is generally associated with condition-based maintenance and reduced downtime. However, its real strategic value may be larger when composite airframes are considered, since certification-driven safety margins are strongly influenced by the limited detectability of barely visible damage and hidden internal flaws. In this work, the aircraft-level value of SHM is revisited with stronger attention to the monitoring rationale, the integration burden, and the system implications of certification-aware structural design. Starting from an A220-like reference aircraft, a multidisciplinary analysis is used to quantify how permanently installed SHM sensors affect operating empty weight, mission fuel, field performance, and direct operating costs. Three configurations are compared by varying sensor density and safety-margin assumptions. The results show that SHM becomes especially attractive when it is not treated only as a maintenance add-on, but as a design enabler capable of partially relaxing conservative composite sizing assumptions. Under the investigated assumptions, a reduced structural safety margin combined with a limited sensor density leads to nearly unchanged aircraft performance together with lower cash operating costs and lower block fuel. The study highlights that the system-level effectiveness of SHM depends on the balance between sensing coverage, installation mass, and the certification credit granted to the monitoring capability.