SYSTEM FOR DIAGNOSING AND MONITORING STRUCTURAL HEALTH CONDITIONS

• US 20080011086A1
• Filed: 09/26/2007
• Published: 01/17/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 09/22/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Advanced Structure Monitoring, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Advanced Structure Monitoring, Inc.
• Inventors: Kim, Hyeung-Yun
• Application Number:
  US11/861,781
• Publication Number:
  US 20080011086A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 73/632
• CPC Class Codes: G01H 11/00 Measuring mechanical vibrations or ultrasonic, sonic or infrasonic waves by detecting changes in electric or magnetic properties
• CPC Class Codes: G01H 11/08 using piezoelectric devices
• CPC Class Codes: G01H 9/004 using fibre optic sensors light guides per se G02B6/00, acousto-optical devices specially adapted for gating or modulating in optical wave guides G02F1/125
• CPC Class Codes: G01M 11/086 Details about the embedment of the optical fiber within the DUT
• CPC Class Codes: G01M 5/0033 by determining damage, crack or wear
• CPC Class Codes: G01M 5/0066 by exciting or detecting vibration or acceleration vibration testing of structures G01M7/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01M 5/0091 by using electromagnetic excitation or detection
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2291/011 Velocity or travel time
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2291/015 Attenuation, scattering
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2291/02491 Materials with nonlinear acoustic properties
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2291/0258 Structural degradation, e.g. fatigue of composites, ageing of oils
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2291/0422 Shear waves, transverse waves, horizontally polarised waves
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2291/0423 Surface waves, e.g. Rayleigh waves, Love waves
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2291/0427 Flexural waves, plate waves, e.g. Lamb waves, tuning fork, cantilever
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2291/106 one or more transducer arrays
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 29/043 in the interior, e.g. by shear waves
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 29/0609 Display arrangements, e.g. colour displays indicating or recording in connection with measuring in general G01D
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 29/0672 by acoustic tomography medical tomography A61B8/13
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 29/07 by measuring propagation velocity or propagation time of acoustic waves
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 29/223 Supports, positioning or alignment in fixed situation mounting transducers per se G10K11/004
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 29/245 : Ceramic probes, e.g. lead zirconate titanate [PZT] probes
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 29/2475 : Embedded probes, i.e. probes incorporated in objects to be inspected
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 29/2493 : Wheel shaped probes
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 29/28 : providing acoustic coupling , e.g. water impedance matching G10K11/02
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 29/4418 : with a model, e.g. best-fit, regression analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 29/4463 : Signal correction, e.g. distance amplitude correction [DAC], distance gain size [DGS], noise filtering

Abstract

Systems for diagnosing/monitoring structural health conditions of objects. The system, which monitors structural health conditions by use of a plurality of patch sensors attached to an object, includes at least one bridge box. Each of the patch sensors is capable of at least one of generating a wave upon receipt of an actuator signal and developing a sensor signal in response to the wave. The bridge box includes: a switch array module that has a plurality of relay switches; and a signal condition module, wherein the plurality of relay switches are operated to establish a channel between a selected one of the patches and the signal condition module.

Claims

1. A diagnostic system for monitoring structural health conditions by use of a plurality of patch sensors attached to an object, each said patch sensor being capable of at least one of generating a wave upon receipt of an actuator signal and developing a sensor signal in response to said wave, said system comprising:

at least one bridge box including;

a switch array module that has a plurality of relay switches; and

a signal condition module,

wherein said plurality of relay switches are operated to establish a channel between a selected one of said patches and said signal condition module.

2. A diagnostic system as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

a data acquisition system for generating the actuator signal and receiving the sensor signal, said data acquisition system being coupled to the bridge box by a transmission link.

3. A diagnostic system as recited in claim 2, further comprising:

a computer for operating the patch sensors and the data acquisition system, said computer being coupled to the data acquisition system.

4. A diagnostic system as recited in claim 1, wherein said bridge box is disposed in a structure.

5. A diagnostic system as recited in claim 2, wherein said transmission link includes at least one of an electrical cable and a wireless link.

6. A diagnostic system as recited in claim 1, wherein said signal condition module is operative to perform at least one of conditioning the actuator signal, filtering the sensor signal and converting a fiber optical signal into an electrical signal, said sensor signals carrying information of the health condition of the object.

7. A diagnostic system as recited in claim 1, wherein said bridge box further includes:

at least one miniature transducer coupled to said patches, operative to receive the sensor signal from the patches and to generate transducer signals.

8. A bridge box as recited in claim 7, wherein said miniature transducer is operative to receive a wireless actuator signal from the data acquisition system and to generate the actuator signal to the patches.

9. A diagnostic system as recited in claim 7, wherein said bridge box further includes:

a microprocessor operative to receive the transducer signals from the miniature transducer and to generate a radio frequency (RF) signal carrying the transducer signals.

10. A diagnostic system as recited in claim 1, wherein said bridge box further includes:

an antenna for receiving and broadcasting a radio frequency (RF) signal.

11. A diagnostic system as recited in claim 10, wherein said antenna is a conformal load-bearing antenna.

12. A diagnostic system as recited in claim 9, wherein the RF signal is formatted in accordance with a Wireless Application Protocol (WAP).

13. A diagnostic system as recited in claim 9, wherein the RF signal is accessible to a mobile internet toolkit.