Sensor Network Optimization for a Passive Sensing Impact Detection Technique

An investigation was performed to develop a sensor placement method to maximize the performance of a structural health monitoring (SHM) system with a minimal number of sensors for detection of impact in structures, particularly for structures made of fiber-reinforced composite materials. The performance of the SHM system is evaluated based on the probability of detection (POD). This optimization problem was formulated to maximize the POD through selection of optimal sensor locations for a given sensor network. A genetic algorithm was adopted and integrated with the SHM system to perform the optimization process. Numerical simulations on two composite panels showed that the selection of sensor network configuration is crucial for the performance of the SHM system. For a targeted POD, the proposed method can be used to configure an SHM system with a minimal number of sensors to identify impact forces that are greater than a pre-defined critical value.