| Sol No.: |
Navy SBIR FY2005.1 |
| Topic No.: |
N05-054 |
| Topic Title: |
Development of a Structural Damage Assessment System (MSC P5004) |
| Proposal No.: |
N051-054-0724 |
| Firm: |
Materials Sciences Corporation
181 Gibraltar Road
Horsham, Pennsylvania 19044 |
| Contact: |
Anthony Caiazzo |
| Phone: |
(215) 542-8400 |
| Web Site: |
www.materials-sciences.com |
| Abstract: |
The product of the SBIR program outlined in this proposal is a damage assessment system designed to quickly provide data on the health of a composite structure. Emphasis is placed on development of a structural damage assessment system (SDAS) that enables integration of various NDE techniques with specialty health assessment software for composite materials via a wireless connection. The concept integrates traditional and emerging wide-area inspection techniques with specialty analysis software using a wireless based device that processes the information and returns the health assessment. The Phase I program will establish the feasibility of a SDAS system by conducting laboratory scale inspections of composite panels, demonstrating wireless data transfer and integration with special purpose analysis routines required to quantify damage. |
| Benefits: |
Current methods for conducting non-destructive evaluation (NDE) of U.S. Navy structures require significant time and manpower. Inspections are typically carried out via point-by-point measurement techniques that sometimes require erection of significant scaffolding to access the structure and which, by their very design, are susceptible to missing possibly important information if the sampling grid-work is too coarse. Furthermore, current methods for storing and manipulating inspection data gathered on composite structures are cumbersome and rarely linked to analysis tools needed to quantify the damage severity and assess the impact on overall structural integrity. The benefits of a validated and verified structural damage assessment system include quicker (lower cost) and more reliable inspections of U.S. Navy and commercial sector composite structures. |