SBIR-STTR Award

The performance and durability of air-breathing engines are sensitive to the environment in which they operate. in the case of turbomachinery operating with particulate-laden air, very serious degradation of engine performance and life can occur. the objective of this program is to evaluate two promising concepts for fiber optic sensors to detect the presence and nature of particulates entering the intkae of an operating turboshaft engine. by using fiber optic techniques the considerable advantages of passive operation and emi immunity can be realized. with a particulate sensor operating in real time, an inlet particle serator (ips) can be switched off and on as needed. this, in turn, will convey significant benefits in engine fuel consumption, engine life, and compensation for icing conditions. with greater thrust available under most (non-dusty) conditions, improved agility and vehicle safety can be realized. in phase i, design studies will identify the system layout and design parameters which must be addressed to best integrate the sensor onto a production engine; evaluate the two proposed approaches theoretically to identify the best candidate for development; build and test a model embodying the preferred approach; and study the cost impact of incorporating a sensor of this type onto an engine

Keywords:

In Phase I Aurora analyzed five candidate particle sensing technologies for potential application to turboshaft engine inlets, and selected the beam scattering method, with various enhancements, utilizing fiber optics for light transmission. This method was then modelled with an experimentally. In tests with various sizes of dusts, particle densities, and air speeds, the method was found easily capable of detecting the dust under all conditions. In addition, several properties of the optical signals were shown to be correlated with variables in the dust flow. In Phase II Aurora proposes to develop this method into a fully-testable prototype particle sensor. The model will be tested and calibrated with dusts and air flows covering the full range of conditions appropriate to Army aviation. Software will be developed for the opto-electronic interface to unambiguously calculate accurate dust data under all conditions. The sensor system will then be extensively tested, both on an inlet test rig (subcontracted) and in MIL-SPEC environmental conditions, with the goal being provisional qualification for flight testing. Assuming a vehicle can be made available by the Army, the program will conclude with a flight test on an Army helicopter.

Keywords:
PARTICLE SENSOR DUST SENSOR FIBER OPTIC OPTICAL SENSOR INLET PARTICLE SEPARATOR