Electro-mechanical impedance structural health monitoring as an integral component of a flight recorder for space vehicles

Funmilola Nwokocha; David Hunter; Andrei Zagrai; Dale Amon; Dillon Cvetic-Thomas; Doug Weathers; Amy Tattershall; Dane Robergs; Eli Jackson

doi:10.1117/12.2612393

19 April 2022 Electro-mechanical impedance structural health monitoring as an integral component of a flight recorder for space vehicles

Funmilola Nwokocha, David Hunter, Andrei Zagrai, Dale Amon, Dillon Cvetic-Thomas, Doug Weathers, Amy Tattershall, Dane Robergs, Eli Jackson

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 12048, Health Monitoring of Structural and Biological Systems XVI; 120480H (2022) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2612393
Event: SPIE Smart Structures + Nondestructive Evaluation, 2022, Long Beach, California, United States

Abstract

Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) systems are proposed as a method to reduce cost and improve flight safety by monitoring environmental and vehicle conditions during space travel. For this experiment, a real-time SHM data acquisition system was designed, developed and implemented as an addition to a flight recorder on a suborbital spaceflight. The flight recorder, provided by a commercial partner, Immortal Data Incorporated, collects flight information and distributes it to several units for improved data survivability. The aim of this flight experiment was to demonstrate real time data acquisition and storage by the flight recorder and the integration of the SHM experiment into the flight recording process. The parameters of the flight environment were acquired using various sensors in the payload. The SHM experiment used a small cantilevered beam with attached piezoelectric sensor and utilized a miniaturized Canary impedance analyzer to collect the electro-mechanical impedance signatures of the beam in the particular frequency range. The Canary unit was designed to collect electro-mechanical impedance data, store it on a SD card, process stored data in real time and communicate diagnostic data features to the flight recorder during flight. An algorithm was developed to extract a small set of diagnostic features (impedance peak amplitudes and frequencies) from raw impedance data and communicate this data set to the flight recorder. The paper discusses development of the SHM experiment for a suborbital flight, describes and validates the associated analytical model for impedance signature and provides analysis of the post flight electro-mechanical impedance data. The results obtained in the sub-orbital flight experiment indicate the utility of SHM for space vehicles.

Citation Download Citation

Funmilola Nwokocha, David Hunter, Andrei Zagrai, Dale Amon, Dillon Cvetic-Thomas, Doug Weathers, Amy Tattershall, Dane Robergs, and Eli Jackson "Electro-mechanical impedance structural health monitoring as an integral component of a flight recorder for space vehicles", Proc. SPIE 12048, Health Monitoring of Structural and Biological Systems XVI, 120480H (19 April 2022); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2612393

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available

Members: $17.00

Non-members: $21.00 ADD TO CART

PROCEEDINGS
9 PAGES

DOWNLOAD PAPER SAVE TO MY LIBRARY

GET CITATION

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

Get copyright permission Get copyright permission on Copyright Marketplace

KEYWORDS

Sensors

Structural health monitoring

Finite element methods

Data communications

Data modeling

Mathematical modeling

Algorithm development

Show All Keywords

Keywords/Phrases

Search In:

Publication Years