Structural health monitoring of cryogenic fuel tanks

A method of health monitoring aircraft fuel system structures comprising:

• monitoring guided waves emitted by at least one guided wave emitter mounted to an inner hydrogen tank using at least one guided wave detector mounted to the inner hydrogen tank to monitor for a change versus a first baseline;
• monitoring guided waves emitted by at least one guided wave emitter mounted to an outer hydrogen tank surrounding the inner hydrogen tank using at least one guided wave detector mounted to the outer tank to monitor for a change versus a second baseline;
• and
• outputting an alert to at least one of aircraft avionics and/or an onboard integrated vehicle health monitoring system (IVHM) if a change versus either or both of the first or second baselines is detected;
• wherein the inner tank includes a fuel port extending through the inner tank and the outer tank that is configured to facilitate fluidic communication between an aircraft system and an interior of the inner tank.

A fuel system for an aircraft comprising:

• a cryogenic storage system for hydrogen fuel including an inner tank configured for direct contact with cryogenic hydrogen therein, and an outer tank surrounding the inner tank, wherein the outer tank is spaced apart from the inner tank by an insulation gap;
• a guided wave sensor array mounted to a surface of the outer tank;
• and
• a fuel port extending through the insulation gap that is configured to facilitate fluidic communication between the inner tank and an aircraft propulsion system.