Direct Write sensors for composites have generated considerable interest in recent years for Army and Navy rotorcraft and repair operations. Other composites applications include fuel cells for automotive applications, high speed rail, long term monitoring of infrastructure (bridges, tunnels), and certainly commercial aerospace. Next generation aircraft such as the Boeing 787 use composite materials for a number of critical structures. Monitoring of these structures is of considerable interest to the manufacturers and operators of these aircraft, particularly as neither have experience fielding such extensively composite-based systems over the timescales on which these aircraft are expected to be in service. MesoPlasma Direct Write sensors may be employed for a variety of ambient and high temperature (beyond 1000
oC) applications. These are not limited to composite structures, including also metallic, ceramic and coated components. Applications for thermal and flow monitoring using these embedded sensors include measuring component temperature; insulation and heat shield integrity; blowby detection; and heat flux measurement (coaxial thermocouple-based or thermopile-based). Applications for mechanical sensors include health monitoring (as proposed herein); strain monitoring for pressurized tanks; launch load measurement; payload shock detection and measurement; and measuring deformation of shape-sensitive space structures e.g., telescopes, antennas.
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