Proceedings of the XMO Industrial Seminar 2026: Excellence in Manufacturing and Operations
Keywords
Convergent manufacturing; additive manufacturing; WAAM, smart metallic structures, structural health monitoring (SHM
Tracks
CONVERGENT MANUFACTURING
DOI
10.5703/1288284318666
Abstract
Smart Metallic Structures (SMS) featuring embedded sensing capabilities have gained significant attention for mission-critical applications. Despite the growing importance of this emerging field, achieving reliable and efficient fabrication of SMS remains a challenge. This study presents a convergent manufacturing pathway for producing smart structures with integrated sensing capabilities. By leveraging Wire-Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) as the primary additive process and combining it with complementary subtractive machining, sensor embedding, and metallization techniques, the developed approach enables the fabrication of multifunctional metallic components tailored for advanced structural monitoring SHM). To demonstrate this concept, a structural beam made of Al-5356 was designed to incorporate a network of strain and temperature sensors. The beam was fabricated using the developed convergent manufacturing approach and subsequently subjected to a series of SHM assessments, including steady-state and transient-thermal analyses, as well as mechanical testing (i.e., three-point bending). The results validate both the structural integrity and sensing functionality of the smart beam prototype, with high-fidelity temperature measurements (≤ 5% error) and consistent strain response under both the linear and dynamic loading conditions. Despite a moderate mechanical debit reduction ( 21%) in flexural modulus and in yield strength ( 19%), the beam effectively captured temperature and strain signals throughout testing. The proposed convergent manufacturing approach, together with the demonstrated prototype, holds strong potential for advanced AM and SHM applications.
Convergent manufacturing of smart metallic structures
Smart Metallic Structures (SMS) featuring embedded sensing capabilities have gained significant attention for mission-critical applications. Despite the growing importance of this emerging field, achieving reliable and efficient fabrication of SMS remains a challenge. This study presents a convergent manufacturing pathway for producing smart structures with integrated sensing capabilities. By leveraging Wire-Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM) as the primary additive process and combining it with complementary subtractive machining, sensor embedding, and metallization techniques, the developed approach enables the fabrication of multifunctional metallic components tailored for advanced structural monitoring SHM). To demonstrate this concept, a structural beam made of Al-5356 was designed to incorporate a network of strain and temperature sensors. The beam was fabricated using the developed convergent manufacturing approach and subsequently subjected to a series of SHM assessments, including steady-state and transient-thermal analyses, as well as mechanical testing (i.e., three-point bending). The results validate both the structural integrity and sensing functionality of the smart beam prototype, with high-fidelity temperature measurements (≤ 5% error) and consistent strain response under both the linear and dynamic loading conditions. Despite a moderate mechanical debit reduction ( 21%) in flexural modulus and in yield strength ( 19%), the beam effectively captured temperature and strain signals throughout testing. The proposed convergent manufacturing approach, together with the demonstrated prototype, holds strong potential for advanced AM and SHM applications.