Smart Materials and Structures have been the object of continuous work at ONERA since the beginning of the nineties. Among the various topics, structural health monitoring has been the most intensively studied. This is mainly due to the fact a strong basis of non-destructive evaluation knowledge pre-existed in the laboratory L3C (Sensors, Characterization and NDE) now integrated in the Department of Structure and Damage Mechanics.

An overview of the main research works will be presented. Among them : fiber optic sensors for SHM of sandwich radomes, piezoelectric-based passive and active acousto-ultrasonic systems for carbon-epoxy structures (Hybrid Electromagnetic Performing Layer, HELP), Lamb-wave generation by laser pulse through embedded optical fibers, Lamb wave based detection of corrosion in aluminum structures.