Chemical Reclamation of Discarded Rubber Tires

Foster-Miller proposes to build upon its in-line oil monitoring technology to demonstrate and deliver an Integrated Oil Debris And Condition Sensor (IODACS) for continuous monitoring of the transmission and engine lubricants for total wear metal particles,contaminants and oil condition. This on-board sensor will increase the reliability of Health Usage Monitoring System (HUMS) trending, providing sufficient information to enable true prognostics for early detection of impending failures. Debris andcontaminants in oil are known to degrade viscosity and damage internal components. It has been suspected to be the reason for the recent catastrophic flight control failures and corrosive pitting on Army helicopter platforms. The proposed IODACS wouldreplace electromagnetic chip detectors that capture a fraction of the metal particles, which have been proven to be insufficient for effective fault isolation and off-line lubricant condition analysis and detection of contaminants that have long turnaroundtimes and require ground logistics and maintenance support.IODACS will be a unique monitor sensor of a size, weight, robustness and cost suitable for use on-board helicopters. Phase II will address software and hardware integration and develop automated condition recognition protocols for real-time input to theon-board HUMS and implementation of condition based maintenance (CBM) practices. (p00709)