Arrayed Sensors on Motor Case Exterior for Assessing Impact Related Damage to SRMs

Health monitoring techniques applied to Solid Rocket Motors (SRMs) have the potential to improve fleet readiness and reduce overall program costs by extending the service life of assets and reducing lot level replacement of motors based on time alone.  Sporian proposes to determine the feasibility of developing a sensor system and associated modeling and simulation components that will provide for the continuous monitoring and detection of motor case impacts and other rapid mechanical events that could be indicators of damage to or failures within motors.  The overall concept for the proposed system is based on a distributed array of accelerometers placed around a motor case being used to generate data that are used as inputs to modeling and simulation efforts for predicting the location and severity of damage from case impacts or other mechanical events.  Phase I efforts will focus on defining the system requirements including the requirements on the system to generate data useful to modeling and simulation efforts, evaluating competing system options, developing a preliminary design for the system, and prototyping and demonstrating critical aspects of the system in a laboratory environment.  Sporian will work with ATK Launch Systems Group and Titanium Mirror, Inc. on the proposed effort.    BENEFITS: The technology proposed will provide benefits to customers wishing to utilize wireless sensor platforms to better manage a variety of industries and military circumstances. Sporians technology will provide a wireless sensing platform that will be smaller in size, consume less power, be cost effective and will provide inputs for condition based maintenance. Commercial applications include asset management where customers are monitoring resources and wish to know their physical condition. Other commercial applications are found in health care where networked sensors can provide highly useful information to medical professionals, Homeland Security where networked sensors can provide real time information for situational awareness and building protection, and provide information to first responders and security personnel. Government use of the proposed development has applications in the asset management programs by providing conditioned based maintenance information and asset health monitoring.