Description: Albido proposes to develop a Passive Wireless Sensor System for Structural Health Monitoring capable of measuring high-bandwidth temperature and strain of space and aerospace vehicle components operating in extreme environments. The proposed system uses a network of true passive Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW) temperature/strain sensors that can be interrogated wirelessly from a distance of several meters. SAW sensors are lightweight, passive (battery-less), simple, reliable, scalable, sensitive, do not disturb the operating environment, can be permanently placed on the critical components, allow quick and inexpensive acquisition of data to diagnose structure performance or failures, and transmit the relevant data to a remote data processing center wirelessly. A low cost software radio approach will be developed to overcome a strategic bottleneck in SAW sensor system development. In Phase I Albido demonstrated the proof-of-concept of the proposed sensor and the transmission capability in an adequate laboratory environment (TRL 3). Based on the successful results of Phase I, we will develop a product prototype in Phase II that will be validated in a relevant environment by comparison testing against conventional instrumentation on a test article indicated by NASA. At the end of Phase II, the sensor system will be at TRL 6.

Benefits: The proposed technology allows sensors to be placed on critical aerospace and other components without disturbing the aerodynamic flow. That means they can be left in place and be used for monitoring the health and usage of the components in actual operation of the aerospace vehicles. The sensors are relatively inexpensive and a multitude of them can be used and monitored simultaneously. The technology is ubiquitous, that means it is applicable to a wide variety of components such as space launch vehicles, gas turbine and piston engine components, transmission parts, etc. The proposed wireless technology is easy to install and reconfigure, which makes it very adaptive to any specific application. Passive wireless SAW sensors have many Integrated Vehicle Health Management (IVHM) applications within NASA such as: continuous assessment, life of vehicle, thermal protection systems, accelerometers, harsh environment operation, radiation hard operation, ground and in-flight testing, space applications, structural health monitoring (SHM) of spacecraft and launch vehicles, aircrafts, Orbiter Wing Leading Edge Impact Detection System, impact sensors, NASA's ATP facilities, and many others. Of particular importance is to Maintain Vehicle Safety (MVS) between major inspections.

There are two major market segments for non-NASA applications: military and commercial. Since the proposed sensors are small, wireless, conformal, lightweight and suited for harsh environments, the main military application is for structural health monitoring in harsh environments such as measuring strain and temperature on turbine blades inside a jet engine in operation and also for other military systems such as helicopter blades, Army tanks (e.g. M1). In the commercial field Albido's sensors are attractive for structural health monitoring of commercial jet engines, power plant turbo generators, wind turbines and more. However, since Albido's sensors are also low cost, many consumer applications are attractive. For example, they can be placed on critical sections of fragile objects transported by truck. The truck driver can monitor in real time the structural health of his/her cargo. Parameters to be measured are, for example, temperature, strain, pressure, humidity, and location (identity) of the sensors. Automotive and construction industries can also benefit from this type of sensors. Such system can be also used to drastically reduce the cost of vehicle maintenance by performing Condition Based Maintenance (CBM). The estimated size of the combined military and commercial market available for Albido's products is about $4 billion per year.