Conformal Nanostructured Metal RubberT Skin Friction Sensors for Near-Wall Flow Analysis of Underwater Vessels Navy SBIR FY2010.1 Sol No.: Navy SBIR FY2010.1 Topic No.: N101-098 Topic Title: Conformal Nanostructured Metal RubberT Skin Friction Sensors for Near-Wall Flow Analysis of Underwater Vessels Proposal No.: N101-098-0735 Firm: NanoSonic, Inc. 158 Wheatland Drive Pembroke, Virginia 24136 Contact: A. Hill Phone: (540) 953-1785 Web Site: http://www.nanosonic.com Abstract: NanoSonic plans to develop a novel, lightweight, and conformal sensor skin that would measure skin friction to assess near-wall surface flows of underwater vessels. Specifically, a thin nanostructured sensor skin that can be conformally attached onto a substrate or vessel to monitor skin friction will be demonstrated. Other wall shear-stress measurement techniques, such as oil-film interferometry, micro-electro mechanical systems, and liquid-crystal coatings, tend to be highly complex, non-practical for underwater applications, and do not typically have the necessary accuracy levels needed. On the other hand, NanoSonic's Metal RubberT (MRT) skin friction sensors are conformal, ultrathin, contains no moving parts (spatially-distributed sensor elements and interconnect components are all integrated into skin), and does not require cameras or imaging systems to analyze near-wall flow. The ability to precisely measure and map skin friction over surfaces of underwater components is important to the design and control of ship structures, underwater control surfaces and propulsion systems, specifically for flow control and drag reduction. During Phase I, NanoSonic would analytically model and experimentally demonstrate the performance of MRT sensor skin materials in response to near-surface flow fields for multi-directional sensing. The shear-strain detection properties of MRT sensor skins can be controlled through molecular-level chemical processing. Benefits: NanoSonic's plans to develop a durable, non-invasive, and novel Metal RubberT skin friction sensor system for near-wall shear stress monitoring of underwater vessels. Similar, multifunctional nanocomposite materials are also being developed for other applications by NanoSonic building on our ever-growing MRT family of materials, in 1) electronics, 2) aerospace and defense, and 3) biomedical engineering areas. MRT materials also have commercial use in flexible electronics, as interconnects in prosthesis and robotic devices, and in a range of aerospace system applications. Anticipated product sales would come from several areas related to integrated sensors, interrogation electronics and data links for monitoring components/parameters that currently cannot be monitored accurately or with such unobtrusive methods. Return