Inflatable structures are being pursued as candidates for long-term habitats in space. The ability to monitor and assess the structural health of an inflatable module is an important factor in determining the feasibility of using inflatable technologies for habitat requirements, especially in the presence of micrometeoroid and orbital debris (MMOD) threats. There is therefore a need for Structural Health Monitoring methods to perform detection, localization, and quantification of damage to structural layers throughout the structure’s mission. This capability must be accomplished within real constraints for sensor volume, mass, and crew resources, including being able to perform effective damage monitoring of the inflatable habitat layers from the interior during a mission either on a routine basis or as a quick- response basis. Acellent has extensive experience in developing space and field-ready Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) diagnostic systems. This program will focus on development, maturation, assembly and automation of “Flexible multifunctional Structural Health Monitoring systems for inflatable space habitat structures”. The program will enable the low-cost manufacturing of integrated sensing capabilities in inflatable softgoods material systems that are needed to monitor the structural performance of the material in situ, measure load/strain on softgoods components, detect damage, and predict further degradation/potential failures. The Phase I effort would focus on developing an approach for SHM for inflatable softgoods, testing a laboratory proof of concept of the preliminary design, which integrates the SHM approach into inflatable habitat test articles.
NASA is currently looking for SHM technologies that are small and lightweight to provide onboard monitoring capabilities and are easy to install. The proposed system has several critical future exploration applications including support of technologies for self-assembly, in-space assembly, in-space maintenance & servicing, and highly reliable autonomous deep-space systems. These technologies have the potential of significantly increasing safety, reliability, affordability, and effectiveness of NASA missions.
The proposed SHM system can be used in several different platforms including Aircraft, Mining, Bridges, Buildings and other platforms.