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How Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) Sensors Measure Up fbgmounting-pic2Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) Sensors are photonics-based sensors that provide a unique application for the measurement of structural health and usage monitoring that is designed to measure strain and blade degradation through the use of optical strain gauges. Developed by Boeing and Technobis, this revolutionary evolution of machine quality measurement is fast becoming the alternative and powerful enhancement compared to the conventional electrical strain gauges that the industry still rely upon. Structure longevity and operational safety and efficiency of any aircraft component, such as propeller blades, are determined by the stress and strain accumulated through usage, damage, age, and neglect. These types of machine degradation require up-to-date strain measurement techniques that are imperative for the success of machine lifetime maintenance costs from prototype design and testing to mission critical functionality and dependability. What is the Fiber Bragg Grating Sensor Solution? By utilizing FBG sensors, manufacturers and aircraft operators can more efficiently monitor the systems and subsystems within aircraft in order to determine State-of-Health (SoH) and Remaining Useful Life (RUL) of the various components in order to significantly lower operating and implementation costs for all types of aircraft. Dynamic strain range for standard fiber is about 0.5%, standard polyimide equivalent coated fibers have been tested up to 1-2% without problems like fatigue issues. Even special fibers have been tested up to 5%. Proper fiber connection is supported by available connector types that are compliant to rigorous aerospace applications.Aside from the obvious advantages of optical fibers, the following factors speak in favor of opting for an optical strain gauge: Measurement at high numbers of load cycles: Optical strain gauges allow stress tests at high numbers to load cycles (fatigue behavior) even with materials with high strains.Suited even to difficult operating and ambient conditions: Optical strain gauges ensure reduced wiring effort. Several optical strain gauges can be integrated in a single fiber of glass. The optical measurement chain thus adapts to the individual requirements of a specific application. In addition, fiber multiplexing techniques through optical switching allow a next step in multiplying the number of sensors to be interrogated by a single system.Low weight of connection leads: Multiplexing and light-weight fiberglass of optical strain gauges reduce the weight of the connections. The effect of the intrinsic weight of the connections on the test results is only very small (in comparison to electrical strain gauges).Additional Design Considerations for Fiber Bragg Grating Sensor Usage: Mechanical: Affixing Fiber Optic (FO) cables on a bladeElectrical: Fabricating FBG patterns to FO cablesInterfacing FBG sensors to an Internet of Things (IoT) wireless sensor, such as Ridgetop Groups Sentinel IoT Wireless Module, for real-time data transmission of diagnostic readingsSystem-Level: Correlation of conventional strain gauges with FBG measurements

SENTINEL IOT WIRELESS SENSOR DATA TRANSMITTERThe Sentinel IoT Wireless Sensor Solution rotosensehubandhelirotorridgegatorpicRidegtops Sentinel IoT Wireless Sensor is a versatile, low-power sensor that can be used in lab, industrial and factory automation sectors, along with providing flexible configurations. It is designed to fit into small enclosures due to its small footprint and, recently, supporters of the Sentinel IoT Wireless Sensor have adopted it for helicopter gear box monitoring, composite material monitoring and railroad stock installations. Features and Benefits Ridgetop IoT-enabled Structural Health Monitoring Transmission tool for real-time measurement and controlVersatile Can be used in lab, industrial and factory automation applicationsEliminates bulky cables through Internet of Things (IoT) wireless communicationWhen combined with a sensor, wach sensor receives its own unique IP addressProvides flexible configurations

RotoSense: RotoSense is a wireless sensor enabling easy extraction of high-resolution signatures from rotating or vibrating components. It is a microelectromechanical systems (MEMS)-based sensor that measures motion in three dimensions. It can be mounted on a rotating shaft (e.g., on a pinion gear) or tangentially (e.g., on a planetary gear). Sentinel-Gateway-box-transp3 Sentinel Gateway: Sentinel Gateway is a hub used to communicate with wireless sensors from Ridgetop or other sensor providers. It supports the IEEE 801.15.4 wireless communication protocol and can communicate with as many as eight RotoSense sensors at a time.

SENTINEL SUITE FAMILY OF ADVANCED DIAGNOSTICS AND PROGNOSTICS TOOLS Sentinel Suite: A PHM Solutions Family For over a decade, Ridgetop Group has been developing effective prognostics and health management (PHM) solutions for complex, critical systems that can dramatically reduce lifecycle costs. Prognostics, or predictive diagnostics, is the ability to detect the onset of failure before it occurs. Ridgetop Group has pioneered the development of advanced methods of detecting physics-of-failure-based nasaindications of impending failure. Ridgetops approach deals with the extraction of unique signatures that are correlated to the impending failure conditions. The Sentinel Suite Solution Sentinel Suite is a family of advanced prognostic and health management solutions for electronic systems. These solutions offer end-to-end monitoring of systems and comprise sensors, anomaly detection, prognostic reasoners, and graphical visualization tools.

SENTINEL INTERCONNECT DIAGNOSTICS AND PROGNOSTICS TOOLS FOR ELECTRICAL INTERCONNECTScracked-solder-ballSentinel Interconnect is a product line that includes embedded monitors for detecting intermittencies and degradation in crucial system interconnects, and a visualization tool. It is part of the Sentinel Suite family of prognostic and health management (PHM) solutions. While simple in principle, interconnections are the most frequent source of intermittencies and failure in electronic systems. There are tools and techniques that determine that electronic and electromechanical assemblies have been manufactured properly before shipment, but monitoring the systems integrity once it is deployed has been difficult. Sentinel Interconnect detects interconnection degradation and intermittencies in wiring, cables, connectors, and IC packages regardless of whether the problems are caused by mechanical, thermal, moisture, electrical, radiation, or other mechanisms and thus provides you with actionable maintenance data before a catastrophic failure occurs. Sensors SJ BIST: SJ BIST is an monitors the reliability of interconnects and is able to detect intermittencies in IC packages and substrates, and on printed circuit boards (PCBs), cables, and connectors. TSV BIST: TSV BIST monitors interconnects using through-silicon vias (TSVs) in 2.5D and 3D IC chip stacks and in other high-density IC packaging schemes. Applications Sentinel Interconnect applications include: PCBs with Ball-Grid Array (BGA) or other high-density packages for field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), microprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors (DSPs), and other high pin-count devicesIC package qualificationIC die-crack detectionBoard-to-board, board-to-backplane, and other electrical connectorsEmbedded ICs inside a single package connected using TSVs, wire-bonds, or other interconnection mechanismsElectrical cabling systemsFor evaluating SJ BIST in your applications, we have developed the SJ BIST Demonstration and Evaluation Unit (DEU). Contact Ridgetop if you wish more information about how this can help learn how SJ BIST will work in your application. For more information about Sentinel Interconnect, contact us directly or follow the links below :

SENTINEL MOTION DIAGNOSTIC AND PROGNOSTIC TOOLS FOR VIBRATINGMOVING SYSTEMStrain Sentinel Motion is a product line that includes wireless vibration and motion signature monitoring sensors, prognostic reasoners, and a visualization tool. It is part of the Sentinel Suite family of prognostic and health management (PHM) solutions. Rotating and vibrating components wear out. These components may be difficult to access and thus very expensive to service. Yet they are integral to the functioning of complex electromechanical systems and must be carefully maintained lest the system as a whole fails. Preventive maintenance performed on a regular schedule is common, but can be needless if the components in question are still healthy with substantial remaining life and so do not actually require servicing. With Sentinel Motion, the system itself can give you an indication of its current condition, to help you determine what to service and when, so you can keep your equipment running at optimal health while minimizing system downtime and avoiding catastrophic failures.

SENTINEL POWER DIAGNOSTIC AND PROGNOSTIC TOOLS FOR POWER SYSTEMSjet engineSentinel Power is a product line that includes power signature monitoring sensors, prognostic reasoners, and a visualization tool. It is part of the Sentinel Suite family of prognostic and health management (PHM) solutions. Power systems may wear out and cause catastrophic failures in the system they are designed to enable. Fortunately, even as a power system is still performing within nominal limits, it may exhibit tell-tale signs of degradation. Such signatures are extracted and processed by Sentinel Power in order to provide advance warning of impending failure, actionable maintenance data to help eliminate system disruption while also avoiding unnecessary maintenance events. Sensors SMRT Probe 4000: The Sentinel Power product line features the SMRT Probe 4000 . This sensor, based on Ridgetops patented RingDown technology, provides the signature waveforms necessary for advanced diagnostics and prognostics for power systems. As a smart sensor, it generates data that can be immediately processed for PHM analysis without any further data conditioning or filtering. Reasoners ARULE: Ridgetops patented Adaptive Remaining Useful LIfe Estimator (ARULE) calculates a systems state of health (SoH) and remaining useful life (RUL). It accepts waveform data directly from SMRT Probe sensors or, with a customized Sentinel Power data conditioner, from other suitable sensors. Visualization Sentinel PowerView: PowerView is a visualization tool to display data collected by the sensor and to monitor changes in performance. Applications Together the Sentinel Power line can help you reduce the cost of maintenance for a wide range of applications, including: Power converters and invertersPower suppliesElectronic drivers and stagesHeating elements, such as those of aerospace total air temperature (TAT ) probes

Intermittent and catastrophic faults in electronic control systems can now be avoided with Ridgetop Groups SJ BIST. The SJ BIST (Solder Joint Built-In Self-Test) technology accurately detects and reports instances of high resistance, including intermittent opens, in field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs)-to-board interfaces. connectors and cables, and other high density electrical interconnection systems. In addition, SJ BIST is used for detecting cracks in IC substrates and IC package qualification. SJ BIST is part of the Sentinel Interconnect family of products. Solder joints and other physical connections are subject to mechanical failure; they inevitably suffer damage from thermal and vibration stresses, causing troublesome intermittent connections between components on the boards. The ability to measure, detect, and predict solder aging and the resultant failure of electronic modules is a true advancement in electronics reliability. SJ BIST Features Detects damage prior to catastrophic failure of FPGA-to-board interfaceIndependently tested and verifiedWorks with new processes and equipmentEndorsed by leading automotive and aerospace customers