Distributed Optical Sensing System Development for Hypersonic Applications

Turbine based combined cycle (TBCC) and single-use hypersonic vehicles will fly in harsh conditions not experienced by other flight vehicles.  Control systems for such high speed craft will require advanced instrumentation capable of surviving the extreme environments, initially in extensive ground tests then ultimately in flight, to achieve the required performance envelopes.  To address the failure of conventional instruments in hypersonic applications, our Phase 1 program provided a viable, lightweight, interference free solution using ultra high temperature (UHT) distributed fiber optic sensing.  Also demonstrated were high speed signal processing and practical scalability roadmaps.  This Phase 2 proposal targets continued development of the sensing system readiness for ground testing and validation in hypersonic engine test facilities at Primes, which includes the related effort of deploying a compact, smart fiber sensing interface (FSI) with very high frequency signal processing capabilities, and critical operational studies such as shock train identification.  In addition, a voluntary and successful Phase 1 task of embedding fiber optic sensors within a superalloy will permit a unique engineering program for severe environment sensor packaging development, aimed at providing unprecedented distributed monitoring capabilities for hypersonic propulsion systems and corresponding vehicle structure health monitoring, leading to extensive military and commercial applications.