AN ICING DETECTION SYSTEM BASED ON OPTICAL REFRACTOMETRIC TECHNIQUES IS DESCRIBED IN THIS PROPOSAL.

AN ICING DETECTION SYSTEM BASED ON OPTICAL REFRACTOMETRIC TECHNIQUES IS DESCRIBED IN THIS PROPOSAL. THE FIRST OMEGA GROUP, INC. PROPOSES TO DEMONSTRATE THE APPLICABILITY OF THIS CONCEPT TO ENABLE THE CONSTRUCTION OF ICING MONITORING EQUIPMENT SUITABLE FOR INCLUSION IN PROPULSION TEST UNITS CONDUCTING SIMULATED ALTITUDE TESTING OF TURBINE ENGINES WITH INLET TEMPERATURES AS LOW AS MINUS 80 DEGREES F. THE ENVISIONED INSTRUMENT WILL RELIABLY AND IN REAL TIME PROVIDE A WARNING AT THE ONSET OF ICING. THE DESIGN OF THE INSTRUMENT AS PRESENTLY CONCEIVED WILL NOT POSE A SAFETY TO OPERATING AND MAINTENANCE PERSONNEL. THE USE OF POLYMERIC MATERIALS SHOULD PREVENT SERIOUS DAMAGE TO A TURBINE ENGINE EVEN IF THE SENSOR SHOULD BE DAMAGED AND SUBSEQUENTLY INGESTED. THE OBJECTIVE OF PHASE I IS THE COMPLETION OF DESIGN AND LABORATORY EVALUATION OF THE SUITABILITY OF THE CONCEPT. IN PHASE II, AN INSTRUMENT BASED UPON THE PRINCIPLES DEMONSTRATED IN PHASE I WOULD BE DESIGNED, CONSTRUCTED AND FIELD TESTED. IF PROVEN FEASIBLE, THIS CONCEPT ENABLES A NEW CLASS OF ICING DETERMINATION INSTRUMENT.