Shape sensing with iFEM on a type IV pressure vessel based on experimental measurements

This research introduces a method for implementing structural health monitoring employing the inverse Finite Element Method (iFEM). The iFEM methodology revolves around minimizing a weighted least-squares function, which assesses the disparity between experimental and numerical strains. This enables the reconstruction of a structure's strain distribution with a constrained sensor array. Subsequently, structural health monitoring entails identifying discrepancies between the strains reconstructed through iFEM and those measured. The aim of this study is to apply the iFEM to a type IV pressure vessel prototype, to reconstruct the full field of displacement, starting from experimental discrete strain measurements, taken from an experimental quasi-static compression test. The problems of the choice of the sensors to be used, the choice of the sensor network, the manipulation and filtering procedure of the experimental measurements will be examined and finally the results obtained will be widely discussed. The current study introduces a diagnosis application utilizing iFEM, which can be utilized in practical applications within a Digital-Twin framework, where the problem of monitoring pressure vessels becomes fundamental.