REPUBLIC OF SERBIA

MINISTRY OF DEFENCE

www.mod.gov.rs

MINISTRY OF DEFENCE

Material Resources Sector

Defensive Technologies Department

Military Technical Institute

www.vti.mod.gov.rs

WIRELESS SENSOR NETWORKS TECHNOLOGY IN
AIRCRAFT STRUCTURAL HEALTH MONITORING

Dragoljub Vujić

Military Technical Institute, Belgrade, dragoljub.vujic@vti.vs.rs

radoslav stojić

Faculty of Information Technology, Belgrade, radoslav.stoic@fit.edu.rs

ZORAN FILIPOVIĆ

Institute GOŠA, Belgrade, zoran.filipovic@institutgosa.rs

Abstract: Aircraft industry has to meet a challenge of reducing operational and maintenance costs. One of the possible ways for reducing these costs is the introduction of wireless sensor networks (WSNs). WSNs are already finding a variety of applications for both safety-critical and non-safety critical distributed systems. This paper deals with the application of WSNs for aircraft structural health monitoring. Special attention has been given to the use of Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) as promising technology for implementation into WSNs. Some of the important technological challenges which have to be solved in near future are presented at the end of the paper.

Key words: wireless sensor networks, aircraft structural health monitoring, micro-electro-mechanical systems, condition-based maintenance, sensor node, energy harvesting.