High-Temperature Wireless Data Transmission Technology for Turbine Bearings & ISHM

Impact Technologies, in cooperation with Dr. Darrin Young of Case Western Reserve University, with oversight from turbine engine OEMs, propose to develop and demonstrate a high-temperature wireless data transmission technology for high speed bearing data with a goal of achieving a telemetry distance of more than 10 feet with operating temperature of 250 up to 300°C. This technology would be a key enabler for improved engine health management. Key tasks of the phase I effort include 1) full definition of the transmitter operating requirements including power availability (harvesting required?), data rates, amount of pre-processing, environmental specs, etc. 2) Design of the transmitter, most likely based on a low-power silicon-tunnel-diode-based oscillator which has been shown attractive for previous high temperature MEMS sensing and telemetry applications; 3) testing the performance of the prototype transmitter across a range of temperatures, transmission distances, input power levels, fundamental design parameters; 4) Providing metrics related to data loss from real vibration signals (generated from a bearing on a test stand and from various recordings of engine vibrations) as a function of the tested parameters; and 5) Analyzing the potential of the technology to meet Air Force goals in Phase II and beyond.