Health Management Tools for Rocket Engine Turbomachinery

Frontier Technology, Inc. (FTI) will develop innovative modeling tools, sensors, and signal processing for the prediction of the health of rocket engine turbomachinery. The ultimate goal is real-time health management technology capable of monitoring turbomachinery performance. The benefit is reduced turnaround time and increased safety and availability for reusable rocket engines. Health management technology can quickly identify faults or abnormal conditions in an engine following use and can ensure that it has been restored to a normal health state prior to return to service. The same technology technology improves safety through its ability to detect anomalies in flight and to initiate appropriate corrective action, minimizing mission impact and reducing catastrophic failures. The research provides the ability to: --Identify and assess feasibility of tools that allow health monitoring of a rocket engine turbopump. --Develop innovative system architecture integrating modeling, novel sensors, and signal processing to predict rocket engine health. --Identify data sets that can validate the tool. FTI’s approach combines expertise in the development and application of data-derived prognostic health management technology with in-depth knowledge of rocket engine turbomachinery to provide a single rocket engine health management capability for use either in flight or on the ground.