INTEGRATED CIRCUIT SYSTEM FOR CONTROLLING STRUCTURAL HEALTH MONITORING PROCESSES AND APPLICATIONS THEREFOR

• US 20110035167A1
• Filed: 08/05/2009
• Published: 02/10/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 08/05/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Acellent Technologies, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Acellent Technologies, Inc.
• Inventors: Zhang, Chang, QING, Xinlin, Chung, Hung Chi, Chang, Fu-kuo, Li, Irene
• Granted Patent: US 8,265,889 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 702/58
• CPC Class Codes: G01M 5/00 Investigating the elasticity of structures, e.g. deflection of bridges or air-craft wings G01M9/00 takes precedence
• 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 5/0075 by means of external apparatus, e.g. test benches or portable test systems G01M5/005 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2291/0289 Internal structure, e.g. defects, grain size, texture
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2291/105 two or more emitters, two or more receivers
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 29/075 by measuring or comparing phase angle measuring frequencies or phase angles per se G01R23/00, G01R25/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 29/2437 Piezoelectric probes
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 29/4427 with stored values, e.g. threshold values
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 29/48 by amplitude comparison
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49016 Antenna or wave energy "plumbing" making
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49117 Conductor or circuit manufacturing

Abstract

A structural health monitoring system using ASICs for signal transmission, reception, and analysis. Incorporating structural health monitoring functionality into one or more ASICs provides a durable yet small, lightweight, low cost, and portable system that can be deployed and operated in field conditions. Such systems provide significant advantages, especially in applications such as armor structures.

Claims

1. A structural health monitoring system, comprising:

a structure; and

at least one integrated circuit, the at least one integrated circuit configured to transmit interrogating signals to a plurality of actuators coupled to the structure, to receive sensor signals from a plurality of sensors coupled to the structure, and to determine a health of the structure according to a comparison of the received sensor signals to baseline signals;

wherein the interrogating signals correspond to stress waves propagated through the structure so as to query the structure;

wherein the sensor signals correspond to stress waves detected by the plurality of sensors;

wherein the baseline signals correspond to a baseline state of the structure; and

wherein one or more integrated circuits of the at least one integrated circuit is coupled to the structure.

2. The structural health monitoring system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of actuators and the plurality of sensors both comprise piezoelectric transducers.

3. The structural health monitoring system of claim 1, wherein the structure is a ballistic protective armor.

4. The structural health monitoring system of claim 1, wherein the at least one integrated circuit further comprises:

a first integrated circuit, comprising;

an interface for receiving the sensor signals;

at least one memory storing baseline signal data corresponding to the baseline signals, and interrogating signal data corresponding to the interrogating signals; and

a processing block programmed to retrieve the baseline signal data, to compare the sensor signals to the baseline signals according to the retrieved baseline signal data, to output results data resulting from the compare, and to initiate transmission of the interrogating signals for querying the structure; and

a second integrated circuit in electronic communication with the first integrated circuit, the second integrated circuit comprising;

a signal conditioning block for conditioning the sensor signals; and

an interface configured to transmit the conditioned sensor signals to the interface of the first integrated circuit.

5. The structural health monitoring system of claim 4, further comprising a power supply in electrical communication with the first and second integrated circuits, the power supply configured to supply power to both the first and second integrated circuits.

6. The structural health monitoring system of claim 4:

wherein the sensor signals received by the interface of the first integrated circuit are analog sensor signals;

wherein the first integrated circuit further comprises an analog to digital (A/D) converter connected between the interface and the processing block, the A/D converter configured to convert the analog sensor signals to digital sensor signals; and

wherein the processing block is further programmed to compare the digital sensor signals to the baseline signals.

7. The structural health monitoring system of claim 4:

wherein the first integrated circuit further comprises;

a signal generator receiving the interrogating signal data and generating digital interrogation signals therefrom; and

a digital to analog (D/A) converter in electronic communication with the signal generator, the D/A converter configured to convert the digital interrogation signals to the interrogating signals, wherein the interrogating signals are analog signals.

8. The structural health monitoring system of claim 4, wherein the processing block is further programmed to write the results data to the at least one memory.

9. The structural health monitoring system of claim 4, wherein the first integrated circuit is packaged with the second integrated circuit.

10. The structural health monitoring system of claim 4, wherein the second integrated circuit further comprises an amplifier configured to amplify the interrogating signals.

11. The structural health monitoring system of claim 4, further comprising an amplifier in electrical communication with the first and second integrated circuits, the amplifier configured to receive the interrogating signals from the first integrated circuit, to amplify the interrogating signals, and to transmit the amplified interrogating signals to the second integrated circuit.

12. The structural health monitoring system of claim 11, further comprising a power supply in electrical communication with the first and second integrated circuits and the amplifier, the power supply configured to supply power to the amplifier and to both the first and second integrated circuits.

13. The structural health monitoring system of claim 4:

wherein the processing block is further programmed to transmit an actuator selection signal selecting one or more actuators for receiving the interrogating signals; and

wherein the second integrated circuit further comprises a first multiplexer block configured to receive the actuator selection signal and to route the interrogating signals to the selected one or more actuators accordingly.

14. The structural health monitoring system of claim 13:

wherein the processing block is further programmed to transmit a sensor selection signal selecting one or more of the sensors for monitoring; and

wherein the second integrated circuit further comprises a second multiplexer block configured to receive the sensor selection signal and to route the first signals from the selected one or more of the sensors to the signal conditioning block.

15. The structural health monitoring system of claim 4, wherein at least one of the first integrated circuit and the second integrated circuit is placed remote from the structure.

16. The structural health monitoring system of claim 4, wherein at least one of the first integrated circuit and the second integrated circuit is coupled to the structure.

17. A structural health monitoring system, comprising:

a first integrated circuit, comprising;

a processing block receiving sensor signals from sensors affixed to a structure, comparing the sensor signals to baseline signals, generating results data from the comparing, and generating interrogation signals initiating transmission of interrogating signals for interrogating the structure; and

a waveform generation block receiving the interrogation signals from the processing block and generating corresponding ones of the interrogating signals;

a second integrated circuit, comprising;

a signal conditioning block receiving the sensor signals, conditioning the sensor signals, and transmitting the conditioned sensor signals for receiving by the processing block of the first integrated circuit; and

a multiplexer block routing the interrogating signals to predetermined actuators affixed to the structure.

18. The structural health monitoring system of claim 17, wherein the sensors and the actuators are piezoelectric transducers.

19. The structural health monitoring system of claim 17, the processing block further generating an actuator selection signal identifying the predetermined actuators to the multiplexer block.

20. The structural health monitoring system of claim 17, the processing block further generating a sensor selection signal identifying ones of the sensors to the multiplexer block, the multiplexer block further routing the sensor signals from the identified ones of the sensors to the first integrated circuit.

21. The structural health monitoring system of claim 17, wherein the second integrated circuit further comprises a sensor signal amplifier block amplifying the sensor signals.

22. The structural health monitoring system of claim 17, further comprising an interrogating signal amplifier block amplifying the interrogating signals.

23. The structural health monitoring system of claim 22, wherein the second integrated circuit further comprises the interrogating signal amplifier block.

24. The structural health monitoring system of claim 17, wherein the first integrated circuit further comprises:

an interface receiving the conditioned sensor signals, wherein the conditioned sensor signals received at the interface are analog signals; and

an analog to digital (A/D) conversion block in electrical communication with the interface and the processing block, the A/D conversion block converting the conditioned sensor signals from analog signals to digital signals and transmitting the digital sensor signals to the processing block.

25. The structural health monitoring system of claim 24:

wherein the interrogating signals generated by the waveform generation block are digital signals; and

wherein the first integrated circuit further comprises a digital to analog (D/A) conversion block receiving the digital interrogating signals, converting the digital interrogating signals to analog interrogating signals, and transmitting the analog interrogating signals to the multiplexer block of the second integrated circuit.

26. The structural health monitoring system of claim 17, wherein at least, one of the first integrated circuit and the second integrated circuit is coupled to the structure.

27. The structural health monitoring system of claim 26, wherein the structure is a ballistic protective armor.

28. The structural health monitoring system of claim 17, wherein at least one of the first integrated circuit and the second integrated circuit is placed remote from the structure.

29. The structural health monitoring system of claim 28, wherein the structure is a ballistic protective armor.