SBIR Phase I: Real-time Oxygen Monitoring Instrument for Aircraft Fuel Tanks

该项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力将是一种安全可靠的飞机油箱实时O2监测仪器。该仪器将大大降低飞机油箱爆炸的可能性，并可能挽救生命，从而使商用飞机行业受益。该技术还可用于确保军用飞机和直升机的油箱在被弹道穿透后得到充分净化，从而保护飞机和机上军事人员。此外，本项目所开发的技术还可用于监测油轮和储油库中的油空量，以防止爆炸，这对石油工业和防止溢油有很大的好处。最后，由于该技术可以在恶劣的化学环境中测量O2，因此可以应用于监测制药和特种化学品制造过程中的O2，其中减少O2通常对于保护昂贵的催化剂免受污染至关重要。该小型企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目旨在为飞机油箱开发一种安全可靠的实时O2监测仪器。需要这样一个工具来解决联邦运输安全机构的任务，这些机构要求商用飞机消除油箱爆炸的可能性。所提出的仪器通过采用基于光学氧、温度和压力传感器的融合的多组分光学传感器来推进最先进的水平。这三种坚固、稳定和灵敏的传感器的组合使我们能够在飞机油箱中发现的温度、压力和浓度范围内准确和精确地测量O2浓度，而不会产生火花危险。第一阶段的目标是开发一种用于飞机油箱的氧气监测仪器原型，并证明我们的技术可以在很长一段时间内对喷气燃料蒸汽中的氧气进行安全、精确和准确的测量。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this project will be a safe and robust real-time O2 monitoring instrument for aircraft fuel tanks. This instrument will benefit the commercial aircraft industry by dramatically decreasing the probability of fuel tank explosions on planes and potentially save lives. This technology could also be used to insure that military plane and helicopter fuel tanks are adequately purged after they are pierced by ballistics, protecting both the aircraft and military personnel onboard. In addition, the technology developed by this project might be used to monitor the ullage in oil tankers and reservoir to prevent explosions, greatly benefiting oil industry and preventing oil spills. Finally, because this technology makes measuring O2 in harsh chemical environments possible, it might be applied to monitor O2 in the pharmaceutical and specialty chemical manufacturing process, where reduced O2 is often critical to protect expensive catalyst from fouling. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to develop a safe and robust real-time O2 monitoring instrument for aircraft fuel tanks. Such an instrument is needed to address mandates from federal transportation safety agencies, which require commercial aircraft to eliminate the possibility of fuel tank explosions. The proposed instrument advances the state-of-the-art by employing a multi-component optical sensor based on the fusion of optical oxygen, temperature, and pressure sensors. The combination of these three robust, stable and sensitive sensors allows us to accurately and precisely measure O2 concentration in the range of temperatures, pressures and concentrations found in aircraft fuel tanks without the risk of spark hazards. The goal of Phase I will be to develop a prototype O2 monitoring instrument for aircraft fuel tanks and demonstrate that our technology can make safe, precise, and accurate O2 measurements in jet fuel vapors over an extend period of time.