Foreign Object and Damage Sensing in Turbomachinery via RF Probes
Abstract
Health monitoring in all types of machinery is critical for the safe operation and optimal maintenance of complex systems. Propulsion and power systems, for example, can require complex prognostic capabilities in order to ensure proper health management. Such systems have hundreds of potential failure modalities, ranging from bearing failure to structural fatigue of turbomachinery components. Inaddition, the ingestion of foreign objects can result in catastrophic damage to gas-turbine engines, posing a threat to both military and commercial aircraft. Accurate detection of foreign objects and related damage and where it occurs in the mission envelope (e.g., take-off, landing, hover, touch-and-go ops) is valuable information in the health maintenance of the engine. A Radio Frequency (RF) based approach offers a method to detect changes in engine characteristics as well as foreign object debris. Our approach relies on an array of non-contact sensors that includes bothcoherent transmission nodes and coherent receiver nodes, deployed collectively as a coherent multipleinput multiple output (CMIMO) array-based sensor system. The proposed technology is a potential solution to the vexing problem not only affecting aviation but also land based turbomachinery. By monitoring gas-turbine engines in real-time and in-situ, resulting RF coherent signal dispersion characterizations will potentially enable the detection of ingestion of foreign object debris, damage tothe engine (e.g., changes in the system components), and symptoms of engine damage. Symptoms of damage could include shaft unbalance, bearing fatigue, blade deformation/vibration, and the onset of compressor stall or anomalous behaviors. The information made available by the RF technology could beused for diagnostics, in-situ health monitoring, and the implementation of condition-based monitoring and control. It is anticipated that the long-term benefit to the U.S. Navy may include increased safety, higher fleet efficiency, lower operating costs, and reduced maintenance costs of gas-turbine engines. In support of this research effort, we will conduct rigorous laboratory-scale experiments involving theCMIMO sensor installed in a single-stage axial compressor and other facilities at the University of Notre Dame to establish and demonstrate capabilities of the sensor systems. The research program integrates the novel CMIMO sensing technology developed in the University of Notre Dame???s Department of Electrical Engineering with the world-class expertise and turbomachinery testing capabilities residing inthe Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering and the Notre Dame Turbomachinery Laboratory.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Jul 26, 2018
- Source ID
- N000141812535
Entities
People
- Thomas G. Pratt
Organizations
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy
- University of Notre Dame