Prolonged sand and dust exposure leads to gas turbine component degradation and ultimately engine failure. Our current sensor platform measures particulate size, size distributions, and concentration. Hal Technology will enhance the capabilities of our newly developed compact, rugged, flush-mounted, fiber-optic sensor for real-time engine health monitoring. In addition to extending the size sensitivity, the proposed Engine Particulate Ingestion Composition (EPIC) sensor will use an innovative hybrid discrimination approach to incorporate chemical composition identification without compromising the form factor of the current sensor platform. Our sensor platform performs non-intrusive particle measurements with a multiplexed sensor head that has implementation flexibility, reduced thermal management requirements, immunity to electromagnetic interference, and potentially low cost. In the Phase II effort we will build multiple fully functional EPIC sensors ready for evaluation, testing, and integration into selected engine system(s) for operational assessment. During Phase III we will work with the selected-engine OEM to develop a certification plan, perform Category A (ground) and B (flight) testing. Our EPIC sensor can be integrated into an engine control system to allow early warning of excessive dust loading and provide information to help manage the health and durability of an aero-turbine engine.
Benefit: Although the EPIC sensor will be primarily designed for military aero-turbine engines such as the Allison T406 on the Bell Boeing MV-22B, the GE T700 on the Sikorsky SH60, or the P&W F135 on the Joint Strike Fighter, the sensor developed by this contract will also be applicable to civilian aircraft engines and ground-based vehicles such as trucks, tanks, personnel carriers, and automobiles for engine health protection and health management.
Keywords: Optical particle sensor, Optical particle sensor, turbine blade erosion, particulate load rate, Particle size, Particle concentration, composition identification, Engine Health Monitoring, Light scattering
