Large Array Thermocouple Scanner

To address the Air Force need for a remotely distributed on-board miniaturized temperature scanning system for turbine engine testing, Physical Optics Corporation (POC) proposes to develop a new Large Array Thermocouple Scanner (LATS). This proposed system is based on uniform temperature reference, analog-to-digital converter, microcontroller, multiplexer, and optical transceiver. The innovative combined use of microcontroller and multiplexer enables LATS to simultaneously measure 700 thermocouples at 200 samples/channel, and use of an optical transceiver provides accurate transmission of data over long distances and immunity to turbine engine testing environmental noise influence. LATS has a measurement resolution of 10 microvolts and an average size of <10 in. cubed per channel, and provides Ethernet-compatible data output. It directly addresses the Arnold Engineering Development Center requirement for a new temperature-scanning system for the turbine engine testing facility. In Phase I, POC will develop an end-to-end system block diagram with identification of critical components and construct a proof-of-concept prototype capable of scanning a minimum of eight thermocouples to demonstrate technical feasibility of the LATS system. In Phase II, POC plans to develop a prototype with a minimum of 64 channels that is straightforward to scale up to 700 channels in Phase III and beyond. BENEFITS: A myriad of systems and devices rely on accurate prediction and counteraction of destructive thermal stress and fatigue. Any time this is the case, LATS can help effectively test and analyze data about the temperature characteristics of a material or machine. Specific examples include vehicle motor engineering, industrial manufacturing, and civil engineering. The freedom from wiring, power, and size constraints allows the LATS system to be used also as a long-term embedded monitoring system rather than only a test tool. Military applications of the LATS system will include accurate thermal stress testing for vehicle motors and components, and heat effects on armor and ballistics, as well as possible real-time monitoring of aircraft fuselage characteristics. The system can be incorporated by the Air Force into aircraft turbine engine performance testing, which will benefit from accurate and real-time thermal measurements.