ABSTRACT: Harvesting electrical energy from thermal gradients can be a useful tool for numerous applications from large scale waste heat recovery to small scale self-powered sensors. Increasing the efficiency of traditional bulk thermoelectric generators (TEG) has been the subject of much… More

ABSTRACT: Modern turbine engines are advancing with remarkable progress in the development of increasing power, decreasing fuel consumption, and enhanced controls allowing for prognostic estimation of health. Even so, there are areas of these engines which can be dramatically improved given… More

ABSTRACT: Turbine engine performance, efficiency, and reliability can be greatly improved if additional and evolving instrumentation can be added for input to the FADEC and PHM systems. As this additional instrumentation becomes a larger percentage of the engine"s total life cycle cost; the… More

There is currently a lack of reliable instrumentation which can provide data about non-catastrophic foreign object damage without an extended examination by a highly skilled technician. Current methods require a detailed visual inspection either through engine disassembly or with a borescope.… More

Pressure measurements in gas turbine engines are unacceptably constrained by the limited operating temperatures of commercially available sensors. In engine hot sections, electronic semiconductor material-based sensors must be cooled or remotely located and connected using a pneumatic tube.… More

Prime Research LC (PPLC) and Virginia Tech (VT) propose to develop an energy harvesting wireless strain node technology that utilizes single-crystal piezoelectric fiber-based energy harvesting, highly sensitive and low power piezoresistive strain gages, and ultra wide-band (UWB) ultra low power… More

The team of Prime Photonics, Virginia Tech, and Utron Kinetics propose to demonstrate a method for fabrication of a bulk, amorphous, cobalt-rich material that demonstrates low-noise magnetic properties, superior to those of the 6-81.3 Mo-Permalloy family. In particular, bulk cobalt-rich amorphous… More

During the course of operation the blades of a blisk are altered by erosion, fatigue, and FOD. In the case of more significant blade damage the blade may need to be blended to restore its strength. These changes can result in rotor mistuning, allowing for more damaging modes to be supported in the… More

Phase II.5 Proposal, extension of Phase II contract N00014-09-C-0476. The goal of this work is to continue developing and testing the fiber-optic magnetic field sensors designed in the Phase II program. These sensors, which operate by detecting polarization rotation caused by a magneto-optic… More