A UH-1N helicopter, testbed for the Naval Aviation Center for Rotorcraft Advancement, flies a mission near theChesapeake Bay to test and demonstrate integrated corrosion sensing technology. Early detection of metal-killingcorrosion could cut total ownership costs for all Department of Defense rotorcraft in the near future. (U.S. Navyphoto by Doug Abbotts)

NAVAL AIR SYSTEMS COMMAND, PATUXENT RIVER, Md. Naval Aviation Centerfor Rotorcraft Advancement (NACRA) Technology Demonstration and Development teamshave joined industry partner Luna Innovations, Inc., to test and demonstrate integratedcorrosion sensing technology.

We estimate 90 percent of an aircrafts total ownership cost occurs after delivery, saidAshley Morgan, NACRAs technology project coordinator. More than 30 percent of that isdue to corrosion and those costs escalate as the aircraft ages.

But more importantly, Morgan asserted, the issue is safety.

Corrosion can alter residual strength and structural integrity, Morgan said.

If you can put sensors in the aircraft structure for early detection and take appropriatecorrosion mitigation actions, you can decrease overall downtime and expense, not tomention add a higher degree of safety, said NACRAs resident materials expert Dr. SureshVerma.

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February 19, 2013

NACRA Testbed executes corrosion sensor technology project

Verma.

Enter NACRAs corrosion sensor project that extends development efforts initiated throughthe Navys Small Business Innovation Research Program.

We installed a combined wired and wireless corrosion monitoring system provided byLuna with installation design provided by Wyle on our UH-1N testbed helicopter in July2012 and have been flying it as a ride-along with our other project work, Morgan said.With this technology installed, we can track environmental exposure and specificconditions at corrosion hot-spots as a function of time, using inputs from variousenvironmental and corrosivity sensors.

Specifically, the project measures air and surface temperatures, relative humidity, solutionresistance and polarization resistance to predict aluminum corrosive activity.

Morgan said the aircraft sensors gathered and stored this environmental data that testengineers sent to Luna for analysis.

Data from the wired sensors and the wireless sensor hub were used to classify corrosivitywithin the airframe and the environmental measurements were strongly correlated toNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration weather station data, said Lunas Dr.Fritz Friedersdorf, director of intelligence systems.

This project and the resulting data contributed to the Air Force ordering a total of 20 ofthese systems for demonstration on Air Force H-60s, Friedersdorf said. The first set willbe installed the week of February 18, 2013. This would not have been possible without theNavys support and the availability of the NACRA test bed aircraft.

The project is scheduled to fly on the NACRA testbed indefinitely.

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http://www.navair.navy.mil/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.NAVAIRNewsStory&id=5264301-757-5136

NAVAIR News ReleaseNAWCAD Public Affairs

Patuxent River, MD

February 19, 2013

NACRA Testbed executes corrosion sensor technology project