Distributed Sensor Network for Structural Health Monitoring of Ships Navy SBIR FY2010.1 Sol No.: Navy SBIR FY2010.1 Topic No.: N101-095 Topic Title: Distributed Sensor Network for Structural Health Monitoring of Ships Proposal No.: N101-095-1480 Firm: McQ Inc. 1551 Forbes St. Fredericksburg, Virginia 22405-1603 Contact: Brent Roeder Phone: (540) 373-2374 Web Site: www.mcqinc.com Abstract: There is a critical need for the ability to assess the structural health of the Navy's ships through the use of strain monitoring. Typical strain monitoring systems consist of a set of analog strain sensors connected by individual cables to a centralized data acquisition system where their analog signals are conditioned and digitized for processing and analysis. This architecture has many disadvantages. It is cumbersome and obtrusive because of the amount of cabling required to connect the strain sensors to the data acquisition unit. Additionally, because of the long measurement lines these systems are very sensitive to electromagnetic interference (EMI) which can corrupt the analog signal leading to poor signal quality. This is especially true in the harsh EMI environment of a naval ship. A strain monitoring system that is simple, unobtrusive, and highly reliable would be invaluable to the Navy for assessing the health of their vessels. To provide this capability, McQ will develop the strain acquisition and monitoring system (SAMS). SAMS will reduce the amount of cabling required to instrument structures of interest, will be tolerant of EMI, and will be capable of running without batteries. Benefits: There are commercial applications for a strain acquisition and monitoring system (SAMS) in a few different markets. Based on the topic solicitation there is a large need for a SHM system for many of the vehicles in the Navy's fleet. In addition, there is a significant need for bridge SHM systems in the United States. In 2008, the Federal Highway Administration (FHA) considered 151,391 of America's bridges to be deficient (http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/bridge/nbi/defbr08.cfm#a). Because of its rugged unobtrusive design, SAMS could be marketed as a retrofit solution for older bridges in the interest of public safety. Just based on the sheer number of bridge structures that the FHA considers deficient, commercialization of the SAMS is practical. Return