Energy Harvesting, Wireless Structural Health Monitoring System for Helicopter Rotors Navy SBIR FY2013.1 Sol No.: Navy SBIR FY2013.1 Topic No.: N131-011 Topic Title: Energy Harvesting, Wireless Structural Health Monitoring System for Helicopter Rotors Proposal No.: N131-011-0880 Firm: Veraphotonics Inc 43967 Rosemere Dr Fremont, California 94539 Contact: An-Dien Nguyen Phone: (408) 802-7489 Web Site: www.veraphotonics.com Abstract: Veraphotonics proposes to develop a low weight, high-speed structural health monitoring system capable of measuring load, vibration, and acoustic emission (AE) responses corresponding to damages occurring in advanced materials and structures. Our novel sensing system consists of a fiber bragg grating (FBG) sensor array interrogated by a low-cost, light-weight, low-power miniaturized stand-alone laser based detection system combined with state-of-the-art multichannel wireless data acquisition node and high-performance energy harvesters. Veraphotonics novel sensor interrogation technology offers a number of advantages including compact sensors and low-power, lightweight sensor interrogation instrument which incorporates closed loop feedback control algorithms for robust sensor wavelength demodulation integrated with power conditioning for energy harvesting power management. In Phase I, we will demonstrate the muti-channel interrogation system's capability to wirelessly measure load, vibration, and AE response combined with energy harvesting power management for monitoring composite rotor blade structures under loading. In Phase II, the self-powered multifunctional sensor device will be developed for field use to monitor load history and detect damage presence and locations in helicopter rotor blades. Benefits: The proposed fiber optic-based multifunctional instrument may be applied to a wide range of applications including corrosion monitoring,strain/stress monitoring, and crack and corrosion induced acoustic emission detection in commercial aerospace, civil infrastructure, and automotive industry. Return