Electrical Wiring Fatigue Monitoring System

"Electrical wiring fatigue is a critical problem for aerospace and civilian infrastructure applications. As summarized in the Review of Federal Programs for Wire System Safety, "The aging of a wire system can result in loss of critical functions inequipment powered by the system or in loss of critical information regarding the operation of certain parts of the equipment. Either result can jeopardize public health and safety and lead to catastrophic equipment failure or to smoke and fire." For thisprogram, Luna Innovations proposes to develop a highly multiplexed wiring fatigue monitoring system utilizing optical fiber sensing technology and magnetostrictive films. Luna has previously demonstrated sensing technology to monitor thousands of pointsof strains across a structure. By combing these sensors with magnetostrictive films, they will function as electromagnetic field sensors. As the insulation around the wiring degrades, the resultant electromagnetic field will induce a strain in themagnetostrictive film which is then measured by the optical fiber sensor. 1000's of these sensors along the wire length will provide the location and state of wire degradation. Luna has a history of bringing research from the laboratory to fullcommercial products and will use this experience to commercialize this revolutionary technology. The proposed monitoring technology has immediate use for measurement of current and electromagnetic fields i