FIBER OPTIC FLUID FLOW SENSOR

AURORA OPTICS PROPOSES TO DEVELOP AND DEMONSTRATE A FIBER-OPTIC FLUID FLOW SENSOR USING THE PHOTOELASTIC EFFECT TO DIRECTLY MODULATE THE AMPLITUDE OF A BEAM OF LIGHT. BY MOUNTING A PHOTOELASTIC PRESSURE SENSOR ON THE SIDE OF A VORTEX-SWIRL FLOW HOUSING, PRESSURE PULSES MAY BE SENSED. THE PRESSURE PULSE FREQUENCY IS A LINEAR FUNCTION OF FLOW RATE IN A VORTEX SWIRL METER. THE PRESSURE SENSOR ITSELF WILL CONSIST OF A DEVICE ALREADY PARTIALLY DEVELOPED UNDER A 1986 SBIR PHASE I PROGRAM FROM NASA LEWIS. THE APPLICATION OF SIMILAR SENSORS TO VORTEX SWIRL FLOW MEASUREMENT HAS ALREADY BEEN DEMONSTRATED BY AURORA OPTICS PERSONNEL. IN THIS PROGRAM, HOWEVER, WE WILL CREATE A PASSIVE OPTICAL DEVICE, ADDRESSED SOLEY BY OPTICAL FILES, WHICH WILL UTILIZE OUR EXISTING GENERIC ELECTRONIC INTERFACEUNIT. THE RESULTING FLOW METER, FURTHER, WILL BE TESTED OVER A RANGE OF FLOW RATES DETERMINED IN CONSULTATION BY NASA AND OVER A RANGE OF TEMPERATURES FROM -55 TO +150. THIS INNOVATION WILL LEAD DIRECTLY TO THE ACHIEVEMENT OF ALL-OPTICAL FLIGHT DATA AND ENGINE CONTROL INSTRUMENTATION FOR HIGH PERFORMANCE AIRCRAFT. THIS PROPOSAL IS ALSO RELEVANT TO SUBTOPIC 03.06.