Rapid In-Place Composite Rotor Damage Detection

Luna Innovations is proposing to develop the Rapid In-Place Composite Rotor Damage Detection (RIPCoRDD) for determining and tracking the structural health of composite rotorcraft blades. There is a need for accurate, reliable assessments of rotor condition, particularly for damage which may not be visible from the surface. The RIPCoRDD system is designed such that it will result in absolutely no increase in weight, power consumption, or volume of the rotorcraft. The core of the RIPCoRDD device is a unique, distributed, fiber optic strain sensor which provides spatially dense strain measurements (every 1.25-5 mm) within the composite structure of the blade, coupled with a ground based installation of Luna?s proven instrumentation. During Phase I Luna (with guidance from a rotorcraft OEM partner) will demonstrate the ability to detect and characterize damage which occurs in sample composite structures. During Phase II Luna will mature the technology to TRL6 by testing the system in a complete rotor. Commercialization will focus on transitioning the technology first to OEM manufacturers for non-destructive inspection applications, followed by deployment to rotorcraft end users for lifetime monitoring and diagnostics.

The Rapid In-Place Composite Rotor Damage Detection (RIPCoRDD) system directly addresses elements of the NASA technology development roadmap (topic 15.5). While the proposed technology is broadly applicable to a range of applications within NASA projects, there are some for which the proposed work is especially relevant. One specific program which has called for rotor health maintenance is the Revolutionary Vertical Lift Technology (RVLT) Project. In addition, the advanced composites project is actively seeking new technologies which can help in the rapid inspection and characterization of composite material health.

Rotorcraft play a key role in numerous areas of modern life, from life-saving medical transports, to enabling access to remote locations, to military use. The performance capabilities of composites (strength to weight, non-catastrophic failure) have driven their use in the weight sensitive designs of rotorcraft. Due to the complex structure of composite materials there is a potential for hidden damage internal to the blade which shortens lifetime while being difficult to detect. By enabling true condition based monitoring of these rotors, the useful lifetime of rotor blades can be extended, lowering total cost of ownership. In addition, this technology can be expanded into a host of non-aeronautical applications, such as wind turbine health monitoring.

This is early/mid-stage (TRL 4) — the most realistic path in is NASA SBIR/STTR, which funds small businesses and research institutions to develop technology aligned with NASA's needs (equity-free, phased funding). Check whether a current SBIR/STTR solicitation topic overlaps with this project's technology area, or contact the project directly (above) to ask.

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