RF Emission-Based Health Monitoring for Hybrid and/or All Electric Aircraft Distributed Propulsion S

Future aircraft propulsion is destined to be electric. All electric aircraft propulsion systems promise significant improvements in energy efficiency, maneuverability, safety, reliability, reduced maintenance costs, noise reduction, higher lift, shorter takeoff, and other factors. NASA's LEAPtech technology is the major departure from the current state-of-art aircraft vehicle/engine design, possibly enabling unprecedented performance and design flexibility...and [can] maximize total vehicle performance. This offers new opportunities to monitor aircraft propulsion components, on the ground or continuously in-flight. Nokomis has developed and installed a system for testing electronic components for Air Force procurement and maintenance spanning non-contact measurement of electronic part degradation, part aging and predicting onset of part failure. We propose a system whereby Electromechanical Health and Remaining Useful Life (RUL) can be determined real-time in-flight using motor's unintended Radio Frequency emissions, making flight testing such aircraft safer, and detecting dangerous conditions before they materialize.

This technology is intended for use by the LEAPtech Program, especially directed towards anticipating safety issues and improving overall performance of this platform. Additional programs which could benefit from the technology proposed include the Integrated Vehicle Health Management effort (IVHM), originated by NASA but now also supported by Boeing, Cranfield University, and other large industry leaders, and the NASA Exploration Systems Mission Directorate (ESMD) for ensuring reliability of equipment in support of both human and robotic exploration programs.

There exists continued developmental efforts and sales volume in the automotive industry of hybrid and all-electric vehicles. Future efforts towards autonomous operation demand the development of technologies to ensure the safety margin and reliability for such vehicles. Other potential industries include elevator manufacturers, robotics providers and the defense industry to avoid system failures in motor drive systems and improve maintenance.

This is early/mid-stage (TRL 3) — 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.

None of these are guaranteed paths for this specific project — TechPort itself doesn't have an "apply" button. Reaching out to the contact(s) above with a specific question is usually the fastest way to find out what's actually open.