Smart Shelf Life Tag for Ordnance Health Monitoring

Polymer Aging Concepts, Inc. proposes to develop a"Smart Shelf Life"(SSL) tag which provides a low cost health monitoring system for ordnance based on a new condition monitoring sensor technology called AgeAlert. The AgeAlert sensor in SSL labels comprises a conductive composite element made from a tiny portion of desensitized double base propellant and conductive fillers. The sensor responds to the tiny mass loss resulting from stabilizer depletion during aging by a resistance change in the sensor. SSL tags, integrating the AgeAlert sensor into a passive wireless transponder such as a passive Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag are bonded externally to the monitored ordnance item, ordnance casing or packaging so that the AgeAlert sensor"sees"the same thermal environment as the ordnance device propellant. No embedment of the sensor into the propellant is required, not are any electrical connections required to the ordnance device. A handheld wireless RFID reader provides electrical energy to the SSL tag, queries the sensor and calculates remaining life of the ordnance device by use of sensor-propellant correlation models developed by acceleration aging of sensors and propellant samples. The SSL tags will provide individual propellant aging data for ordnance reliability and service life extension programs.