A Fully Integrated Health Monitoring Smart Sensor

The Health Monitoring Smart Sensor (HMSS) is a fully integrated, advanced structural health monitoring platform, currently on test flights monitoring one of the Airbus A380 engines, able to detect and report to the aircraft computer a variety of degradations. It provides a main plug for the aircraft power and an auxiliary plug for a thermoelectrical power harvester. The firmware switches automatically between the two power sources by monitoring the harvester charge level. The aircraft supplies status signals indicating the flight mode (ground/flight) and the engine mode (on/off). A RS422 link provides data to the aircraft computer when the aircraft has landed and the engine has been switched off. The electronics protect the power sources and communication lines in case the plane is struck by a lightning. Environmental sensors (temperature, pressure, relative humidity) monitor ambient conditions while several thermocouples monitor temperature at select engine areas. Several coil sensors are utilized to detect cracks by performing electrical continuity checks. Moreover, by measuring the coil inductance, any sensor detachment from the structure is detected. The sampling frequency per sensor and flight mode is parametrical. Independent power domains per sensor/component, activated only when needed, and the microcontroller low power modes result to ultra low power consumption