Environmental Condition Monitoring for Towed Arrays

Towed array sonar systems provide the U.S. Navy with anti-submarine warfare (ASW) capabilities for surveillance of submarines, torpedoes and surface ships. These arrays are assembled from swappable sensor modules and can extend kilometers in length for different applications. When deployed, they are subject to environmental and operational loads that have the potential to reduce expected lifespans and lead to mission failures that are very costly to Navy operations. Presently, there doesn’t exist a fully-contained field-serviceable sensor module capable of recording these conditions with the accuracy and resolution needed to inform condition-based maintenance (CBM) practices. Luna has developed ultralow-power embedded systems for CBM on submarine equipment and will leverage these technologies to produce a data recording and processing system that meets the Navy’s sensing and lifespan constraints, as well as the form, fit, and function specifications outlined for this towed array application. The sensor module will incorporate 1) low-power pressure, temperature, acceleration, bending and motion sensors, 2) low-power microcontroller and memory components, 3) data compression techniques, 4) power storage, management, and triggering strategies, 5) and data transmission capabilities that will provide Intermediate Maintenance Activity facilities with sufficient data to correlate environmental conditions with array health and maintenance needs.