Health Monitoring for Shipboard Fluidic Networks

The innovation of this proposal is using an electronic probe signals to test piping for latent failures such as cracking and corrosion, and leaks. At the frequencies we use for these probe signals, the skin depth of the energy flow is very small andnearly all the energy flows on the inside and outside surfaces of the pipes, or as electromagnetic fields in the insulation or air immediately surrounding the pipes. We have already shown that our method is very sensitive to flaws on test sections ofsmall diameter pipes, and that it works for both metal and carbon composite pipes. We have also already shown that these probe signals are very sensitive to water or other fluids on the surface of pipes, and that clear detection can be made of only a fewdrops of water at one place on the surface of a several meter long pipe. We believe this approach can be developed into a viable product for inspection of hydraulic systems. The electronics to generate, detect, and process the signals can be made verysmall and low cost, and the system could be used either as an off-line test or as a built-in on-line test. The methods detailed in this proposal have also been shown effective in measuring corrosion or cracking in structural members, including carboncomposites as well as metal members. They have also been demonstrated to be able to detect latent failures in electrical wiring where the latent failures are as subtle as chafing on the insulation where the insulation is still fully insulating the wire.A patent has been filed and IAI is involved in detailed discussions with various manufacturers of systems and equipment that could exploit this technology.