Embedded Sensor System to Provide Superior Structural Health Monitoring of Fairing Panels

Swimmer delivery systems, externally mounted on submarines, are subject to hydrodynamic flow and irregular wave-slap loads. These result in unsteady, alternating impacts that can damage exposed surfaces. It is important to track the cumulative stresses imposed on the fairing panels to provide operators with a sense of the remaining service life of the panels. Fairing Panel failure could be catastrophic to operations. Since surface mounted sensors can become damaged or dislodged during normal operational use, there is a need to develop a reliable, durable embedded sensor system. In order to be able to make accurate measurements from embedded sensors, these challenges must be dealt with: (1) Sensor movement during the manufacture of composite, (2) Survivability to high temperature/high pressure composite manufacturing environments, (3) Compatibility of composite materials and sensors, and (4) Ability to make “measurement calibrations” to compensate for the effect of 3-D stresses. In this proposal, Acellent will address and overcome all of the major challenges faced for embedding stress/strain sensors within Fairing Panel composites. Acellent’s unique "SMART Layer" technology has been demonstrated to securely embed sensors, keeping them from moving, during the cure of composites. This advanced technical ability will be used as a basis for this development.