HYPERVELOCITY VEHICLE STRAIN SENSOR

ACCURATE REAL-TIME MONITORING OF STRAIN FORCES IN HYPERVELOCITY VEHICLES UNDER OPERATING CONDITIONS WILL REQUIRE NEW CONCEPTS IN SENSOR DESIGN. FIBER OPTIC SENSORS OFFER POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS BUT PRESENT DAY FIBERS OF GLASS OR SILICA WILL NOT TOLERATE THE EXTREME TEMPERATURES EXPERIENCED IN THESE VEHICLES. LASER-GENICS CORPORATION IS PROPOSING TO INVESTIGATE HIGH TEMPERATURE SINGLE CRYSTAL OPTICAL FIBERS. USING OUR NOVEL APPROACH, WE WILL INVESTIGATE THE FEASIBILITY OF SENSING STRAIN FORCES WITH A SINGLE CRYSTAL FIBER OPTIC. THIS CONCEPT WILL BE TESTED DURING THE PHASE I EFFORT AND A SYSTEM WILL BE DEVELOPED AND CHARACTERIZED DURING THE PHASE II PROGRAM.