Method and system for health monitoring of composite elastomeric flexible elements
First Claim
1. A method of monitoring health of a composite elastomeric flexible element having an elastomer layer between rigid members, said method comprising:
- measuring electrical impedance of the elastomer layer;
computing an indication of health of the composite elastomeric flexible element from the measured electrical impedance of the elastomer layer and trend data for the elastomer layer;
measuring load upon the elastomer layer, and the computation of the indication of health of the composite elastomeric flexible element from the measured electrical impedance and trend data of the elastomer layer is responsive to the measured load upon the elastomer layer in order to discount a change in the measured electrical impedance of the elastomer layer due to a change in the measured load upon elastomer layer; and
reporting the indication of health of the composite elastomeric flexible element to a human administrator.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A composite elastomeric flexible element has an elastomer layer between rigid members. When subjected to loads, and as time goes by, the elastomer layer will undergo damage in the form of micro-voids and polymer chain scission. The time it takes the damage to reach a predetermined, but safe state is a known function of several parameters such as loading rate and load magnitude, time at load, temperature and frequency. The damage decreases the electrical permittivity of the elastomer and changes the electrical conductance of the elastomer if the elastomer is in the environment of an electrically conductive fluid or when the elastomer includes conductive filler. The health of the flexible element is monitored by measuring the electrical impedance of the elastomer layer, computing an indication of health from the electrical impedance and trend data for the elastomer layer, and reporting the indication of health to a human administrator.
67 Citations
22 Claims
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1. A method of monitoring health of a composite elastomeric flexible element having an elastomer layer between rigid members, said method comprising:
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measuring electrical impedance of the elastomer layer; computing an indication of health of the composite elastomeric flexible element from the measured electrical impedance of the elastomer layer and trend data for the elastomer layer; measuring load upon the elastomer layer, and the computation of the indication of health of the composite elastomeric flexible element from the measured electrical impedance and trend data of the elastomer layer is responsive to the measured load upon the elastomer layer in order to discount a change in the measured electrical impedance of the elastomer layer due to a change in the measured load upon elastomer layer; and reporting the indication of health of the composite elastomeric flexible element to a human administrator. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A system for monitoring health of a composite elastomeric flexible element having an elastomer layer between rigid members, said system comprising:
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a circuit for measuring electrical impedance of the elastomer layer; a data processor coupled to the circuit for receiving a measurement of electrical impedance of the elastomer layer, and executing computer program instructions stored in memory to perform the steps of computing an indication of health of the composite elastomeric flexible element from the measured electrical impedance and trend data of the elastomer layer, and reporting the indication of health of the composite elastomeric flexible element to a human administrator; and a load sensor coupled to the data processor for measuring load upon the elastomer layer, and the computation of the indication of health of the composite elastomeric flexible element from the measured electrical impedance and trend data of the elastomer layer is responsive to the measured load upon the elastomer layer in order to discount a change in the measured electrical impedance of the elastomer layer due to a change in the measured load upon the elastomer layer. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A system for monitoring health of a composite elastomeric flexible element having an elastomer layer between rigid members, said system comprising:
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a circuit for measuring electrical impedance of the elastomer layer; a load sensor for measuring load upon the composite elastomeric flexible element; and a data processor coupled to the circuit for receiving a measurement of electrical impedance of the elastomer layer and the load sensor to receive a measurement of the load upon the composite elastomeric flexible element, and executing computer program instructions stored in memory to perform the steps of computing an indication of health of the composite elastomeric flexible element from the measured electrical impedance and trend data of the elastomer layer, detecting a transient load capable of causing degradation of the elastomer layer, and in response to the detection of the transient load upon the composite elastomeric flexible element, computing an assessment of a change in health of the composite elastomeric flexible element due to the transient load upon the composite elastomeric flexible element from the indication of health of the composite elastomeric flexible element, and reporting the indication of health of the composite elastomeric flexible element and the occurrence of the transient load and the assessment of the change in health of the composite elastomeric flexible element due to the transient load upon the composite elastomeric flexible element to a human administrator.
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20. A system for monitoring health of a composite elastomeric flexible element having an elastomer layer between rigid members, said system comprising:
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a circuit for measuring electrical impedance of the elastomer layer; a data processor coupled to the circuit for receiving a measurement of electrical impedance of the elastomer layer, and executing computer program instructions stored in memory to perform the steps of computing an indication of health of the composite elastomeric flexible element from the measured electrical impedance and trend data of the elastomer layer, and reporting the indication of health of the composite elastomeric flexible element to a human administrator; and a position sensor coupled to the data processor for measuring thickness of the elastomer layer, and the computation of the indication of health of the composite elastomeric flexible element from the measured electrical impedance and trend data of the elastomer layer is responsive to the measured thickness of the elastomer layer in order to discount a change in the measured electrical impedance of the elastomer layer due to a change in the measured thickness of the elastomer layer.
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21. A method of monitoring health of a composite elastomeric flexible element having an elastomer layer between rigid members, said method comprising:
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measuring electrical impedance of the elastomer layer; computing an indication of health of the composite elastomeric flexible element from the measured electrical impedance of the elastomer layer and trend data for the elastomer layer; measuring load upon the composite elastomeric flexible element in order to detect a transient load capable of causing degradation of the elastomer layer, and in response to the detection of the transient load upon the composite elastomeric flexible element, computing an assessment of a change in health of the composite elastomeric flexible element due to the transient load upon the composite elastomeric flexible element from the indication of health of the composite elastomeric flexible element; and reporting the indication of health of the composite elastomeric flexible element and the occurrence of the transient load and the assessment of the change in health of the composite elastomeric flexible element due to the transient load upon the composite elastomeric flexible element to a human administrator.
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22. A method of monitoring health of a composite elastomeric flexible element having an elastomer layer between rigid members, said method comprising:
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measuring electrical impedance of the elastomer layer; computing an indication of health of the composite elastomeric flexible element from the measured electrical impedance of the elastomer layer and trend data for the elastomer layer measuring thickness of the elastomer layer, and the computation of the indication of health of the composite elastomeric flexible element from the measured electrical impedance and trend data of the elastomer layer is responsive to the measured thickness of the elastomer layer in order to discount a change in the measured electrical impedance of the elastomer layer due to a change in the measured thickness of the elastomer layer; and reporting the indication of health of the composite elastomeric flexible element to a human administrator.
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Specification