# Can structural damage be detected or predicted using historical data?

Can software simulations and structural health monitoring techniques accurately predict damage occurrence in aerospace structures using historical data(stiffness,damping and vibration measurements over a considerable period of time)

or

Are these techniques more suited to real time damage detection rather than damage prediction ?

For eg. SHM techniques such as parameter estimation using Frequency Response, or Non Destructive Inspection.

• I'm not sure it can accurately predict either. There are a lot of software packages out there that can model structural damage, but I don't know of any real-time damage detection system in use... Mar 7 '16 at 21:47
• Sounds like a research project (e.g. for studying PhD, anyone?) Nov 21 '16 at 11:43
• This is the basic principle behind predictive maintenance in general. In the aviation industry, adding hundreds of cheap wireless sensors will help in this direction.
– mins
Feb 15 '19 at 15:28