What Else Could I Do? The Self Definition of Consequentialists.

Ask yourself, what am I capable of, what incapable of? Answering that question will tell you the kind of person you are. The consequentialist is in principle capable of anything, Thomas More was not. Which kind of person do you want to be? And your children

Modeling of a Surface Acoustic Wave Strain Sensor

NASA Langley Research Center is investigating Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW) sensor technology for harsh environments aimed at aerospace applications. To aid in development of sensors a model of a SAW strain sensor has been developed. The new model extends the modified matrix method to include the response of Orthogonal Frequency Coded (OFC) reflectors and the response of SAW devices to strain. These results show that the model accurately captures the strain response of a SAW sensor on a Langasite substrate. The results of the model of a SAW Strain Sensor on Langasite are presente

Wireless Sensor Applications in Extreme Aeronautical Environments

NASA aeronautical programs require rigorous ground and flight testing. Many of the testing environments can be extremely harsh. These environments include cryogenic temperatures and high temperatures (greater than 1500 C). Temperature, pressure, vibration, ionizing radiation, and chemical exposure may all be part of the harsh environment found in testing. This paper presents a survey of research opportunities for universities and industry to develop new wireless sensors that address anticipated structural health monitoring (SHM) and testing needs for aeronautical vehicles. Potential applications of passive wireless sensors for ground testing and high altitude aircraft operations are presented. Some of the challenges and issues of the technology are also presented

Review of Polyimides Used in the Manufacturing of Micro Systems

Since their invention, polyimides have found numerous uses in MicroElectroMechanical Systems (MEMS) technology. Polyimides can act as photoresist, sacrificial layers, structural layers, and even as a replacement for silicon as the substrate during MEMS fabrication. They enable fabrication of both low and high aspect ratio devices. Polyimides have been used to fabricate expendable molds and reusable flexible molds. Development of a variety of devices that employ polyimides for sensor applications has occurred. Micro-robotic actuator applications include hinges, thermal actuators and residual stress actuators. Currently, polyimides are being used to create new sensors and devices for aerospace applications. This paper presents a review of some of the many uses of polyimides in the development of MEMS devices, including a new polyimide based MEMS fabrication process

Modeling of SAW Delay Lines

Integrated Vehicle Health Monitoring (IVHM) of aerospace vehicles requires rugged sensors having reduced volume, mass, and power that can be used to measure a variety of phenomena. Wireless systems are preferred when retro-fitting sensors onto existing vehicles. Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW) devices are capable of sensing: temperature, pressure, strain, chemical species, mass loading, acceleration, and shear stress. SAW technology is low cost, rugged, lightweight, and extremely low power. To aid in the development of SAW sensors for IVHM applications, a first order model of a SAW Delay line has been created

Rapid SAW Sensor Development Tools

The lack of integrated design tools for Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW) devices has led us to develop tools for the design, modeling, analysis, and automatic layout generation of SAW devices. These tools enable rapid development of wireless SAW sensors. The tools developed have been designed to integrate into existing Electronic Design Automation (EDA) tools to take advantage of existing 3D modeling, and Finite Element Analysis (FEA). This paper presents the SAW design, modeling, analysis, and automated layout generation tools

MOEMS Modeling Using the Geometrical Matrix Toolbox

New technologies such as MicroOptoElectro-Mechanical Systems (MOEMS) require new modeling tools. These tools must simultaneously model the optical, electrical, and mechanical domains and the interactions between these domains. To facilitate rapid prototyping of these new technologies an optical toolbox has been developed for modeling MOEMS devices. The toolbox models are constructed using MATLAB's dynamical simulator, Simulink. Modeling toolboxes will allow users to focus their efforts on system design and analysis as opposed to developing component models. This toolbox was developed to facilitate rapid modeling and design of a MOEMS based laser ultrasonic receiver system