Sensor was approached by a customer who needed a temperature sensor that could be incorporated into modern composite aircraft structures.
In the old days when aircraft were built with metal structures the designers were able to bleed engine air through the wings, the metal would heat up and prevent ice build up in flight.
The composite structures of the very latest aircraft don’t transmit heat in the same way as metal, so designers use instead a very thin electrically heated metal mat which is incorporated into the composite laminations of the structure. The temperature of these mats needs fine control, as the carbon fibre is easily damaged by excess heat.
Even the smallest traditional thermo-couple temperature sensors are too large so can’t be used for this vital task. They would cause a stress concentration if incorporated into a modern laminate structure, causing unacceptable weakness.
We created a sensor using a wafer thin foil that is sensitive to temperature rather than stress. The resulting temperature sensor is ultra thin and very long.
The beauty of the sensor is that, as it is ultra-thin, it can be laminated into the composites creating no discontinuity in the material. It then enables very accurate monitoring of the mat temperature, so preventing temperature spikes that would damage the composite resins.
Our sensor is now being incorporated into the wing and engine nacelle leading edges of the latest aircraft.
The customer had a problem, and Sensor Solutions provided the solution, and many of the newest combat aircraft will fly with Sensor Solutions sensors in their wing and nacelle leading edges.