SiC Fiber Optic Sensors for Turbine Engine Monitoring

NASA's Aviation Safety Program teams with the FAA and the aerospace industry to achieve large strides in aircraft safety under Pillar One of the Aerospace Technology Enterprise's Three Pillars for Success, Global Civil Aviation, and aims to improve aviation safety five-fold over the next 10 years and ten-fold over the next 25 years. To achieve this goal, improved health monitoring systems are required to provide maintenance personnel with accurate information of critical aircraft components to schedule preventive maintenance and indicate impending failure. There is a clear need for miniaturized acceleration, skin friction and pressure sensors capable of operating at extremely high temperatures and pressures for the design, development, and operation of next generation engines. These sensors must be able to withstand pressures in excess of 50 atm., temperatures in excess of 2700¿ C (4900¿ F), and heat flux levels as high as 5000 kJ/m2/s. These conditions far exceed the capabilities of conventional metal and electronic sensors. Luna Innovations proposes to develop fiber optic SiC acceleration, pressure and skin friction sensors capable of surviving in the elevated temperature and vibrational environment of a turbine engine.