ENHAnCE · Project

Smart Damage Detection Software for Composite Parts in Planes and Wind Turbines

manufacturingPrototypeTRL 4Thin data (2/5)

h2020-enhanceitn.eu

Imagine you have an expensive carbon-fiber wing on an airplane or a blade on a wind turbine. Right now, you can't see damage forming inside it until it's already a serious problem — like a cavity in a tooth you didn't know about. ENHAnCE built software tools that use sensor data to spot internal damage in real time and predict how long a composite part will last before it needs repair. Think of it as a health monitor for high-performance structures, similar to how a smartwatch tracks your heart — except it tracks cracks and weak spots in airplane wings and turbine blades.

By the numbers

Early-stage researchers trained in composite prognostics

Research partners in the consortium

Countries represented in the network

Computational platforms developed as demo deliverables

Total deliverables produced

The business problem

What needed solving

Companies operating composite structures — aircraft, wind turbines, automotive parts — spend heavily on scheduled inspections and face costly unplanned failures when internal damage goes undetected. Current inspection methods require taking assets out of service for manual checks, even when nothing is wrong. There is no widely available system that continuously monitors composite health and predicts remaining useful life in real time.

The solution

What was built

The project delivered three computational platforms: an Analytics O&M Platform (HAPMS) that integrates sensor data with maintenance decision-making, an open-access tool for real-time structural health monitoring measurements, and an open-access Lamb-wave simulation tool for modeling damage detection in composites. These were produced across 23 total deliverables by 10 doctoral researchers.

Audience

Who needs this

Aircraft MRO companies managing composite airframe inspectionsWind farm operators dealing with blade maintenance and unplanned downtimeComposite materials manufacturers needing lifetime prediction for certified partsDefense contractors maintaining composite structures on naval or military assetsInfrastructure operators with composite bridges or pressure vessels

Business applications

Who can put this to work

Aerospace MRO

enterprise

Target: Aircraft maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) companies

If you are an aerospace MRO provider dealing with expensive scheduled inspections of composite airframes — this project developed the HAPMS analytics platform that integrates sensor data with operational decision-making in real time. Instead of grounding aircraft for routine checks, you could move toward condition-based maintenance, servicing parts only when sensor data shows they actually need it. The platform was built with 10 early-stage researchers across 9 partner institutions in 7 countries.

Wind Energy

mid-size

Target: Wind farm operators and turbine service companies

If you are a wind farm operator spending heavily on blade inspections and unplanned downtime — this project created an open-access structural health monitoring tool that collects real-time measurements from sensors on composite blades. It can detect damage progression before a blade fails catastrophically, letting you schedule repairs during low-wind periods instead of losing revenue to emergency shutdowns. The project produced 3 dedicated computational platforms for this kind of monitoring.

Advanced Composites Manufacturing

any

Target: Manufacturers of composite parts for automotive, marine, or defense applications

If you are a composites manufacturer needing to guarantee the structural life of your products — this project delivered a Lamb-wave simulation tool that models how guided waves interact with typical damage in composite materials. This lets you validate sensor placement and detection strategies before installing monitoring hardware on real parts, reducing trial-and-error costs during product development. The tool is available as open-access software.

Frequently asked

Quick answers

What would it cost to implement these monitoring tools?

The project produced open-access computational tools, meaning the software itself carries no licensing fee. However, implementation costs would include sensor hardware installation, data infrastructure, and integration engineering. Based on available project data, these are research-grade platforms — expect additional development costs to productionize them for a specific industrial application.

Can these tools work at industrial scale on real structures?

The HAPMS platform was designed to integrate real-time sensor data with operational decision-making, and the SHM tool handles continuous data collection. However, this was an MSCA training network — the tools were validated in research settings with 10 doctoral researchers, not yet deployed on full-scale industrial assets. Scaling to operational fleets would require further engineering.

Who owns the IP and can I license these tools?

The project involved 9 partners across 7 countries, including universities and research organizations. IP is likely shared among consortium members under the grant agreement. Contact the coordinator at Universidad de Granada for licensing discussions. Two of the three demo tools are described as open-access.

How does this compare to existing inspection methods?

Traditional composite inspection uses scheduled non-destructive testing (NDT) — manual ultrasonic scans during planned downtime. ENHAnCE's approach uses permanently installed sensors for continuous monitoring, enabling condition-based rather than time-based maintenance. The remaining useful life prediction capability goes further than detection alone, telling you when a part will need replacement.

What types of damage can the system detect?

The Lamb-wave simulation tool was calibrated for typical damage cases in composite structures. Based on the deliverable descriptions, this includes internal damage that is invisible to visual inspection — the primary safety concern for composite materials in aerospace and wind energy applications.

Is this ready to deploy in my operations today?

Not out of the box. The project concluded in June 2024 and delivered research-grade computational platforms. These would need adaptation and validation for specific industrial use cases. The open-access tools provide a strong foundation, but expect a development phase before operational deployment.

Consortium

Who built it

The ENHAnCE consortium brings together 9 partners from 7 countries (Belgium, Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Netherlands, UK), with a strong academic and research profile: 5 universities and 4 research organizations. The consortium has zero formal industry partners in its structure, though the project objective references engagement with industrial partners for training purposes. This academic-heavy composition means the tools are research-grade and would need an industry partner to bridge the gap to commercial deployment. The coordinator, Universidad de Granada in Spain, led this as a Marie Curie training network — its primary output was trained researchers, with the computational platforms as valuable secondary outputs. For a business looking to adopt these tools, you would likely need to engage directly with the university teams who built them to discuss adaptation and licensing.

UNIVERSIDAD DE GRANADACoordinator · ES
FUNDACION PARA LA INVESTIGACION, DESARROLLO Y APLICACION DE MATERIALES COMPUESTOSparticipant · ES
COMMISSARIAT A L ENERGIE ATOMIQUE ET AUX ENERGIES ALTERNATIVESparticipant · FR
DEUTSCHES ZENTRUM FUR LUFT - UND RAUMFAHRT EVparticipant · DE
POLITECNICO DI MILANOparticipant · IT
THE UNIVERSITY OF NOTTINGHAMparticipant · UK
CENTRE DE RECHERCHE EN AERONAUTIQUE ASBL - CENAEROparticipant · BE
TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITEIT DELFTparticipant · NL
UNIVERSITY OF STRATHCLYDEparticipant · UK

How to reach the team

Universidad de Granada, Spain — contact through the project website or university research office

Order a report on this consortium See UNIVERSIDAD DE GRANADA profile →

Next steps

Talk to the team behind this work.

Want to explore how ENHAnCE's composite monitoring tools could reduce your maintenance costs? SciTransfer can arrange an introduction to the research team and help evaluate fit for your operations.

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