This manuscript deals with the detection of internal cracks and defects in aeronautical fibreglass structures. In technical practice, it is problematic to accurately determine the service life or MTBF (Mean Time Between Failure) of composite materials by the methods used in metallic materials. The problem is mainly the inhomogeneous and anisotropic structure of composites, possibly due to the differences in the macrostructure during production, production processes, etc. Diagnostic methods for detecting internal cracks and damage are slightly different, and in practice, it is more difficult to detect defects using non-destructive testing (NDT). The article deals with the use of Radio frequency identification (RFID) technology integrated in the fibreglass laminates of aircraft structures to detect internal defects based on deformation behaviour of passive RFID tag antenna. The experiments proved the potential of using RFID technology in fibreglass composite laminates when using tensile tests applied on specimens with different structural properties. Therefore, the implementation of passive RFID tags into fibreglass composite structures presents the possibilities of detecting internal cracks and structural health monitoring. The result and conclusion of the basic research is determination of the application conditions for our proposed technology in practice. Moreover, the basic research provides recommendations for the applied research in terms of the use in real composite airframe structures.
Keywords: RFID; aircraft maintenance; composite structure; crack detection; failure detection; fibreglass; tensile test.