JFET_V4_N2_A1 Andrei Zagrai Journal on Future Engineering and Technology 2230 – 7184 4 2 1 16 Structural Health Monitoring, Incipient Damage, Early Damage Detection, Micro-Damage, Material Fatigue, Nonlinear Acoustic, Embedded Sensors Structural fatigue life is a complex function of material composition, manufacturing process, operational loads and environmental conditions. Although deterioration of the structural material starts very early at the micro-scale, it is not until the damage develops into the macro-scale cracks, delaminations and disbonds that it becomes a subject of interest to the established nondestructive evaluation (NDE) and structural health monitoring (SHM) technologies. There is an increasing interest in the early damage detection NDE/SHM techniques permitting assessment of structural condition before initiation of the macro-scale damage and the onset of the irreversible material fracture. This paper reviews recent activities in the field of embeddable structural diagnostics and presents examples of practical implementation of novel damage detection methods. Traditional and emerging NDE/SHM technologies for the assessment of the incipient structural damage are discussed and perspective new directions are highlighted. The particular emphasis is placed on the existing and potential SHM applications. November 2008 - January 2009 Copyright © 2009 i-manager publications. All rights reserved. i-manager Publications http://www.imanagerpublications.com/Article.aspx?ArticleId=505