Magnetoquasistatic and Electroquasistatic Sensor Arrays for Inspection of Railgun Composite Containment Structure

Safe and efficient operation of the naval electromagnetic rail gun (EMRG) requires a capability to monitor the health of the composite containment structure. Advanced instrumentation is needed to detect and monitor stress, damage and temperature within this critical structure. JENTEKs family of inductive and capacitive sensors and arrays have the potential to meet this challenge. The Meandering Winding Magnetometer (MWM), for application to conducting materials such as graphite fiber reinforced composites, has a proven track record of providing superior inspection capability for critical components such as engine disks and has demonstrated capability to image deposit thickness on railgun rails. JENTEKs Segmented Field Dielectrometer (SFD) has demonstrated capability to detect stress, damage and water intrusion in insulating materials such as glass fiber reinforced composites. This proposed Phase I program will evaluate feasibility of adapting both MWM and SFD sensing modalities for monitoring stress, damage and temperature in the composite containment structure of the EMRG. The goal is to perform both scanning/imaging inspections between shots and to provide a monitoring capability of structural health during shots.