SMART COMPOSITE STRUCTURES

Enabling the Next Generation of Smart Structures

PRISMA builds upon years of research in advanced materials, photonic sensing, and Structural Health Monitoring. At the core of the project lies the concept of Smart Structures: engineered systems capable of sensing, interpreting, and responding to changes in their operating environment.

  • The enabling technology is based on the integration of fiber-optic sensors within advanced composite structures. These multifunctional materials not only provide lightweight and high-performance mechanical solutions but also act as sensing platforms capable of transforming physical phenomena into measurable information.

  • By combining photonic technologies with advanced composites, sensing systems become an integral part of the structure itself, enabling the continuous monitoring of strain, temperature, vibration, deformation, and other key parameters throughout the asset lifecycle.

  • Although PRISMA focuses on railway infrastructure, the same technological approach can be extended to a wide range of applications, including aerospace structures, civil infrastructure, energy systems, transportation networks, and other safety-critical assets.

PREDICTIVE MAINTENANCE​​

From Data to Decisions

Integrating sensing capabilities directly into the structure.

  • Traditional maintenance strategies are mainly based on scheduled inspections and periodic interventions. While effective, these approaches do not always reflect the actual condition of the infrastructure and may result in unnecessary maintenance activities or delayed identification of critical issues.

  • PRISMA introduces a data-driven approach based on continuous monitoring and predictive diagnostics. Information collected by the sensing network is transformed into meaningful indicators of structural health through advanced data analytics, numerical models, and Artificial Intelligence techniques.

  • By continuously analysing infrastructure behaviour, the system can detect anomalies, identify degradation trends, and estimate future asset conditions before failures occur. The integration of machine learning and Digital Twin technologies supports maintenance planning based on the actual condition of the asset rather than predefined schedules.

  • The goal is to transform maintenance from a reactive activity into a proactive strategy, where decisions are driven by objective data and predictive insights.

IMPACT

Towards Safer, Smarter and More Sustainable Infrastructure

Safety. Reliability. Cost Efficiency.

  • PRISMA contributes to the digital transformation of infrastructure management by enabling continuous, remote, and real-time monitoring of critical assets.

  • The expected benefits include increased safety through early anomaly detection, improved reliability through continuous condition assessment, and greater cost efficiency through optimized maintenance planning.

  • The expected benefits include increased safety through early anomaly detection, improved reliability through continuous condition assessment, and greater cost efficiency through optimized maintenance planning.

PARTNERS & USERS

RESEARCH

PRISMA brings together expertise from academia, industry, and infrastructure management to accelerate the adoption of innovative monitoring technologies.

INDUSTRY

The project is intended to support railway infrastructure managers, transport operators, maintenance companies, and public authorities involved in the management of critical assets.

INFRASTRUCTURE MANAGEMENT

Potential stakeholders and end users include public transports companies, infrastructure managers and maintenance contractors

5 YEARS PLAN

Next steps