Resistive Material Measurement Probe to Measure the Health of Embedded R-Cards

Advanced air vehicles incorporate specialty materials to improve survivability and mission effectiveness. In some components, multiple layers of electromagnetic materials are used, including resistive sheets (“R-cardsâ€Â) that are embedded underneath a topcoat layer. Quality assurance requirements during manufacture necessitate a means for verifying the R-card properties both before and after incorporation into the multilayer composite. Furthermore, degradation of specialty materials and structures due to damage or normal wear requires detection to ensure the aircraft is fully mission-ready. Early detection of defective material is also key to minimizing repair and maintenance costs, which have historically been unacceptably high. The primary goal of this effort is to develop a handheld device that can characterize resistive sheets (“R-cardâ€Â) embedded within a multi-layer material stack. CTG’s Phase I prototype achieved this goal with a compact sensor termed the RMMP (Resistive Material Measurement Probe). The Phase II effort will advance the technology readiness level of CTG’s RMMP system so that it is ready for deployment to solve this difficult material state awareness problem. In addition, a substantial uncertainty analysis and GRR study will establish the overall accuracy of the RMMP system.