Real-Time, Effective Measurement of Dehydration Levels in Naval Aircrew
Inconvenient urine-relief mechanisms for fast jet aircrew have led to an increase in mission-ending dehydration-induced “physiological episodes”. The Wearable Aircrew Hydration Tracking and Extended Recording (WAHTER) System provides real-time, non-invasive hydration measurements. WAHTER is designed for 8+ hour use and consists of a small, forearm-worn sensor and a small electronics package. As no commercial wearable hydration monitoring system is available, WAHTER’s use extends to multiple venues. Luna Labs provides innovative solutions for non-invasive condition monitoring to multiple Department of Defense agencies. WAHTER increases mission readiness and lethality, and reduces cost by ensuring aircrew can complete their mission. Phase I trials demonstrated technical feasibility, and Phase II is focused on functionality studies and device refinement. The goal for WAHTER is deployment into multiple DoD venues.
Processes for Condition Monitoring and Prognostics at the Sensor Node
Luna Innovations Incorporated (Luna) has developed a framework to design, test and deploy condition monitoring computational processes that track the health of shipboard equipment. Signal processing and modeling techniques are robust, efficient and tailored to conserve energy when run on battery-powered sensor nodes like Luna’s condition-based maintenance hardware. This allows nodes to operate as edge computing resources that diagnose faults locally, report relevant damage features or transmit entire data histories for higher fidelity models that operate on shipboard computers to verify predictions and reduce risk. Performance has been demonstrated for the Navy through relevant environment testing, using both industrial and submarine-grade equipment in partnership with the original equipment manufacturer of hydraulic systems. The ultimate goal is to inform maintenance practices and lower total ownership costs.
Single Vacuum Bag Process for Rapid, On-Site Repair of Composites
For the repair of composite aircraft components, a Double Vacuum Debulk (DVD) process is commonly performed on a repair patch to reduce void volume, prior to application of the patch to the damaged structure. Luna Innovations Incorporated has developed an advanced single vacuum bag process utilizing a novel Breathable, Resin Barrier (BRB) which can be utilized to fabricate high quality aerospace laminates. The technology eliminates the dedicated equipment, complexity, and size limitations of the DVD tooling, while reducing process time by more than 50%. The developed out of autoclave process is applicable to legacy material systems and a wide variety of fabrication and repair applications, but the initial implementation target will be at Navy depots to simplify and more efficiently repair aircraft, such as the V-22.
Durable Sol-Gel Surface Treatment to Control Cathodic Current Density
Galvanic corrosion at dissimilar alloy interfaces is a significant problem on aircraft, with most problems occurring around fasteners and mechanical attachments. Our advanced development of a sol-gel based surface treatment mitigates galvanic corrosion by providing excellent physical and electrical barrier protection to corrosive environments. Our application is designed for drop-in fastener batch processing for easy integration with common aircraft construction or repairs.
Luna develops new-generation products for wide-ranging applications with the intent of delivering unique solutions through innovative science and practical implementation. Luna has demonstrated application, corrosion, and frictional characteristics of the sol-gel surface treatment at TRL 5, and are currently seeking demonstration partners for future transition opportunities.
Rapid Fluorescent Assays for Coliforms in Shipboard Wastewater
The Navy is investigating the performance of Type II Marine Sanitation Devices (MSDs). Technology to rapidly determine if MSD performance is within operational parameters would enhance the effectiveness of the investigation. Luna’s technology, a portable and rapid assay to detect fecal coliforms in MSD effluent, solves that problem. This assay will be transitioned for shipboard evaluation of MSDs, and then integrated within the Coast Guard and Military Sealift Command. The system enables rapid MSD installation and optimization and minimizes onboard storage requirements prior to discharge. Luna, a technology development company with focuses on healthcare, telecommunications, and defense applications, has distributed prototype kits and verified E. coli detection. Our goal is to integrate the assay with selected MSD vendors and to transition it for commercial use in environmental field-based water quality monitoring.
