SBIR-STTR Award

BH Technology proposes the development of a wireless mesh network sensor system for submarine machinery health monitoring. The system will consist of autonomous, self-configuring, self-powered transducer nodes measuring parameters including, but not limited to, vibration, temperature, current, and voltage. The transducers are completely non-invasive and do not require any modifications to the machinery. They are also self powered by incorporating novel energy harvesting capability. The transducers are fully demountable so that as the machinery systems change and grow, the transducers can simply be moved according to need, without disturbing or reconfiguring the entire system. The system can operate at either 2.4GHz or 915MHz.

Benefit:
The anticipated benefits of a self configuring, self powered, autonomous sensor system, that easily mounts and dismounts to the machinery it is intended to monitor has many potential applications to both military platforms and commercial endeavors. Military applications include numerous complex platforms that are in need of continuous monitoring where manual labor, time, and resources, are not feasible. Such platforms include submarine propulsion, navigation, and weapons, surface ship elevators, environmental systems, and even HVAC and laundry systems. Aircraft systems, both fixed wing and rotorcraft platforms, as well as tank and artillery systems can benefit as well. Condition and health based monitoring, of which this proposed system is, has also found application in commercial factory automation, industrial process monitoring, oil and gas exploration and well management, cargo transportation by land, rail sea and air, automotive smart systems, material handling, and many IoT applications as well.

Keywords:
Sensors, Sensors, Health monitoring, Submarine, Condition Based Monitoring, Energy Harvesting, Wireless sensor, Digital twin, Mesh Network

Current practice on submarine platforms is to manually monitor machine performance. Manual monitoring entails expensive allocation of resources, time, and effort and is limited to infrequent, labor intensive, error prone measurements. An autonomous wireless monitoring solution that uses strategically positioned sensors that periodically send their data to an access point for further analysis, is needed. By autonomously gathering periodic, reliable, and accurate data, not only is the impact of the monitoring tasks on personnel drastically reduced but digital twins of the monitored machines can be developed to allow for Condition Based Maintenance of submarine assets. An increased awareness of system health has important implications for maintenance planning and on-time delivery of parts needed for repair. Our Phase II effort builds on the complete demonstrated successes of Phase I allowing for an autonomous wireless network of multiple sensors of various disciplines that are self-powered through ambient energy harvesting, non-invasively measure vibration, temperature, current, and voltages of the monitored equipment and provide real-time, high speed, high volume, accurate raw data for downstream analysis and processing

Benefit:
wireless, self powered autonomous sensors networked together provide great benefit for condition based maintenance and built in health and well being machine monitoring applications. DoD applications range across all services and platforms that can be manned or autonomous where real-time monitoring of performance, sustainment, and operational characteristics are needed for echelon level awareness and decision point making. The same holds true in various industries such as aerospace, oil & gas exploration, food and beverage processing, transportation, and material handling to name a few.

Keywords:
Energy Harvesting, sensor system, Sensor, Condition Based Maintenance, Mesh Network, Wireless, Machine Health Monitoring, Self-powered