Ultra-low Power Wireless Sensors for Advanced, In Situ Structural Health Monitoring

The ability to monitor infrastructure such as bridges, storage tanks, pipelines and buildings is critical to enhancing safety, reliability, and overall structural integrity of existing and future military structural deployments. In order to reduce the need for costly scheduled maintenance while also preventing the potentially catastrophic failure of such structures, a multi-mode distributed sensor network must be developed that provides a full view of the structure"s state of health. To accomplish this, Luna proposes the development of an ultra-low power wireless sensor network for advanced, in situ structural health monitoring. This network will be made up of devices operating off of harvested energy sources (solar, vibration, thermal, etc.), will measure both environmental and mechanical parameters, and will support advanced diagnostics and prognostics for predicting structural health and remaining useful life. Existing Luna technologies will be leveraged and enhanced to rapidly achieve the technical goals of the program and advance the commercialization of this technology. Luna will utilize years of experience in corrosion, environmental and structural health monitoring and will team with Purdue University"s Center for Systems Integrity to provide a fully functional prototype system at the end of the Phase I effort.