{"project":{"acronym":"","projectId":9040,"title":"In-Flight and Pre-Flight Detection of Pitot Tube Anomalies","primaryTaxonomyNodes":[{"taxonomyNodeId":10558,"taxonomyRootId":8816,"parentNodeId":10547,"level":3,"code":"TX01.3.11","title":"Engine Icing","definition":"Engine icing technologies reduce or prevent ice formation on aircraft engines.","exampleTechnologies":"Electro-Expulsive Deicing, pneumatic deicing, thermal anti-icing systems, fluid based deicing approaches, electro-impulsive approaches","hasChildren":false,"hasInteriorContent":true}],"startTrl":1,"currentTrl":4,"endTrl":4,"benefits":"The intended end product of a Phase I and Phase II project is the development of hardware and software that can be used for the detection of pitot tube anomalies resulting from blockages either during in-flight or pre-flight conditions. This end product, which would be commercialized by Analysis and Measurement Services in a Phase III effort, could have a large potential use in the commercial, private, and military aircraft industries. For example, the U.S. Air Force could benefit from a commercially available product for this purpose as evidenced by the B-2 bomber crash at Andersen Air Force base in early 2008 due to water contamination in pitot tubes. This crash resulted in an estimated $1.4 billion in property damage. Adapting this technology to the aviation industry, which has never been done, could prove to solve a long standing safety concern associated with aircraft operation.
The intended end product of a Phase I and Phase II project is the development of hardware and software that can be used for the detection of pitot tube anomalies resulting from blockages either during in-flight or pre-flight conditions. The successful completion and commercialization of this project has tremendous potential for responding to current and long-term needs of NASA in the area of instrumentation failure detection, condition monitoring, and autonomous detection of anomalies for airplanes and aerospace vehicles. It would directly serve NASA's research initiatives within the Aviation Safety Program. Adapting this technology to the aviation industry, which has never been done, could prove to solve a long-standing safety concern associated with aircraft operation.","description":"The health and integrity of aircraft sensors and instruments play a critical role in aviation safety. However, inaccurate or false readings from these same sensors/instruments can lead to improper decision-making resulting in serious if not fatal consequences. This proposal offers a research and development (R&D) effort to demonstrate the feasibility of using advanced data analysis techniques to identify failures in pitot tubes resulting from blockage, icing, or moisture. These data analysis techniques will use existing electrical signals of pitot tube sensors that result from measured processes during in-flight conditions and/or induced signals in pre-flight conditions to detect anomalies in the sensor readings. The proposed method for detecting pitot tube anomalies is referred to as the \"noise analysis\" technique. This technique has been validated and is currently and routinely used by the proposing firm and others for detecting sensing line blockages of pressure transmitters in nuclear power generating stations; a very similar issue to the concern associated with pitot tube blockages. Typically, the output of a sensor that is measuring a process (e.g. air flow) contains two components: a static (DC) component that represents the process parameter, and a dynamic (AC) component. Through the use of the dynamic component of existing electrical signals, the dynamic response of the sensor can be measured in the frequency domain. As the sensor becomes blocked or degraded, changes to the dynamic response can be observed. Specific examples of this are given in the proposal. Another consideration in this proposal is diagnosing pitot tube sensor anomalies in pre-flight conditions. In pre-flight checks, the pitot tubes reside in mild conditions and will not be measuring a turbulent process. As such, a technique is proposed to induce this type of noise on the sensor input and analyze the resultant output using the same noise analysis technique.","startYear":2010,"startMonth":1,"endYear":2010,"endMonth":7,"statusDescription":"Completed","principalInvestigators":[{"contactId":46979,"canUserEdit":false,"firstName":"Bradley","lastName":"Orme","fullName":"Bradley Orme","fullNameInverted":"Orme, Bradley","primaryEmail":"brad@ams-corp.com","publicEmail":true,"nacontact":false}],"programDirectors":[{"contactId":206378,"canUserEdit":false,"firstName":"Jason","lastName":"Kessler","fullName":"Jason L Kessler","fullNameInverted":"Kessler, Jason L","middleInitial":"L","primaryEmail":"jason.l.kessler@nasa.gov","publicEmail":true,"nacontact":false}],"programExecutives":[{"contactId":215154,"canUserEdit":false,"firstName":"Jennifer","lastName":"Gustetic","fullName":"Jennifer L Gustetic","fullNameInverted":"Gustetic, Jennifer L","middleInitial":"L","primaryEmail":"jennifer.l.gustetic@nasa.gov","publicEmail":true,"nacontact":false}],"programManagers":[{"contactId":62051,"canUserEdit":false,"firstName":"Carlos","lastName":"Torrez","fullName":"Carlos Torrez","fullNameInverted":"Torrez, Carlos","primaryEmail":"carlos.torrez@nasa.gov","publicEmail":true,"nacontact":false}],"projectManagers":[{"contactId":22715,"canUserEdit":false,"firstName":"Andrew","lastName":"Reehorst","fullName":"Andrew Reehorst","fullNameInverted":"Reehorst, Andrew","primaryEmail":"Andrew.L.Reehorst@nasa.gov","publicEmail":true,"nacontact":false},{"contactId":461333,"canUserEdit":false,"firstName":"Theresa","lastName":"Stanley","fullName":"Theresa M Stanley","fullNameInverted":"Stanley, Theresa M","middleInitial":"M","primaryEmail":"theresa.m.stanley@nasa.gov","publicEmail":true,"nacontact":false}],"website":"","libraryItems":[],"transitions":[{"transitionId":67933,"projectId":9040,"transitionDate":"2010-07-01","path":"Closed Out","closeoutDocuments":[{"title":"Final Summary Chart","file":{"fileExtension":"ppt","fileId":307248,"fileName":"SBIR_2009_1_FSC_A1.10-8957","fileSize":326656,"objectId":67933,"objectType":{"lkuCodeId":1841,"code":"TRANSITION_FILES","description":"Transition Files","lkuCodeTypeId":182,"lkuCodeType":{"codeType":"OBJECT_TYPE","description":"Object Type"}},"fileSizeString":"319.0 KB"},"transitionId":67933,"fileId":307248}],"infoText":"Closed out","infoTextExtra":"","dateText":"July 2010"},{"transitionId":67934,"projectId":9040,"partner":"Other","transitionDate":"2011-06-01","path":"Advanced To","relatedProjectId":9554,"relatedProject":{"acronym":"","projectId":9554,"title":"In-Flight and Pre-Flight Detection of Pitot Tube Anomalies","startTrl":4,"currentTrl":8,"endTrl":8,"benefits":"The intended end product of a Phase I and Phase II project is the development of hardware and/or software that can be used for the detection of Pitot tube anomalies resulting from blockages either during in-flight or pre-flight conditions. This end product, which will be commercialized by AMS in a Phase III project with non-federal funding, will have wide applications in the commercial, private, and military aircraft industries. Furthermore, it is envisioned that this new technology would be used not only for new aircraft, but also for existing aircraft with only minor modifications.
Although the general target for the end product of this research is in the commercial and private aircraft sectors, NASA and other governmental/military facilities would greatly benefit from this technology. As all aircraft rely on the accurate and reliable performance of Pitot/static systems, improving the detection of inaccurate indications would increase the safety of aircraft passengers and crew, reduce the potential for accidents, and will lead to other advances in aviation technology.","description":"The health and integrity of aircraft sensors play a critical role in aviation safety. Unfortunately, inaccurate or false readings from these sensors can lead to improper decision-making resulting in serious and sometimes fatal consequences. The research performed in Phase I demonstrated the feasibility of using advanced data analysis techniques to identify anomalies in Pitot tubes resulting from blockage such as icing, moisture, or foreign objects. The core technology used in this project is referred to as \"noise analysis\" since it relates a sensor's response time to the dynamic component (noise) found in the signal of these same sensors. This analysis technique has used existing electrical signals of Pitot tube sensors that result from measured processes during in-flight conditions and/or induced signals in pre-flight conditions to detect anomalies in the sensor readings. AMS has routinely used this technology to determine the health of pressure transmitters in nuclear power plants. The application of this technology for the detection of aircraft anomalies is innovative in that instead of determining the health of process monitoring at a steady state condition, this technology will be used to quickly inform the pilot when an air speed indication becomes faulty under any flight condition as well as during pre-flight preparation.","startYear":2011,"startMonth":6,"endYear":2013,"endMonth":11,"statusDescription":"Completed","website":"","program":{"acronym":"SBIR/STTR","active":true,"description":"
The NASA SBIR and STTR programs fund the research, development, and demonstration of innovative technologies that fulfill NASA needs as described in the annual Solicitations and have significant potential for successful commercialization. If you are a small business concern (SBC) with 500 or fewer employees or a non-profit RI such as a university or a research laboratory with ties to an SBC, then NASA encourages you to learn more about the SBIR and STTR programs as a potential source of seed funding for the development of your innovations.
The SBIR and STTR programs have 3 phases:
The SBIR and STTR Phase I contracts last for 6 months with a maximum funding of $125,000, and Phase II contracts last for 24 months with a maximum funding of $750,000 - $1.5 million.
Opportunity for Continued Technology Development Post-Phase II:
The NASA SBIR/STTR Program currently has in place two initiatives for supporting its small business partners past the basic Phase I and Phase II elements of the program that emphasize opportunities for commercialization. Specifically, the NASA SBIR/STTR Program has the Phase II Enhancement (Phase II-E) and Phase II eXpanded (Phase II-X) contract options.
Please review the links below to obtain more information on the SBIR/STTR programs.
Provides an overview of the SBIR and STTR programs as implemented by NASA
Provides access to the annual SBIR/STTR Solicitations containing detailed information on the program eligibility requirements, proposal instructions and research topics and subtopics
Schedule and links for the SBIR/STTR solicitations and selection announcements
Federal and non-Federal sources of assistance for small business
Search our complete archive of awarded project abstracts to learn about what NASA has funded
Still have questions? Visit the program FAQs
","programId":73,"responsibleMd":{"acronym":"STMD","canUserEdit":false,"city":"","external":false,"linkCount":0,"organizationId":4875,"organizationName":"Space Technology Mission Directorate","organizationType":"NASA_Mission_Directorate","naorganization":false,"organizationTypePretty":"NASA Mission Directorate"},"responsibleMdId":4875,"stockImageFileId":36648,"title":"Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Tech Transfer"},"lastUpdated":"2024-1-10","releaseStatusString":"Released","viewCount":393,"endDateString":"Nov 2013","startDateString":"Jun 2011"},"infoText":"Advanced within the program","infoTextExtra":"Another project within the program (In-Flight and Pre-Flight Detection of Pitot Tube Anomalies)","dateText":"June 2011"}],"responsibleMd":{"acronym":"STMD","canUserEdit":false,"city":"","external":false,"linkCount":0,"organizationId":4875,"organizationName":"Space Technology Mission Directorate","organizationType":"NASA_Mission_Directorate","naorganization":false,"organizationTypePretty":"NASA Mission Directorate"},"program":{"acronym":"SBIR/STTR","active":true,"description":"The NASA SBIR and STTR programs fund the research, development, and demonstration of innovative technologies that fulfill NASA needs as described in the annual Solicitations and have significant potential for successful commercialization. If you are a small business concern (SBC) with 500 or fewer employees or a non-profit RI such as a university or a research laboratory with ties to an SBC, then NASA encourages you to learn more about the SBIR and STTR programs as a potential source of seed funding for the development of your innovations.
The SBIR and STTR programs have 3 phases:
The SBIR and STTR Phase I contracts last for 6 months with a maximum funding of $125,000, and Phase II contracts last for 24 months with a maximum funding of $750,000 - $1.5 million.
Opportunity for Continued Technology Development Post-Phase II:
The NASA SBIR/STTR Program currently has in place two initiatives for supporting its small business partners past the basic Phase I and Phase II elements of the program that emphasize opportunities for commercialization. Specifically, the NASA SBIR/STTR Program has the Phase II Enhancement (Phase II-E) and Phase II eXpanded (Phase II-X) contract options.
Please review the links below to obtain more information on the SBIR/STTR programs.
Provides an overview of the SBIR and STTR programs as implemented by NASA
Provides access to the annual SBIR/STTR Solicitations containing detailed information on the program eligibility requirements, proposal instructions and research topics and subtopics
Schedule and links for the SBIR/STTR solicitations and selection announcements
Federal and non-Federal sources of assistance for small business
Search our complete archive of awarded project abstracts to learn about what NASA has funded
Still have questions? Visit the program FAQs
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