by Carol Anne Dunn, Project Specialist, NASA
NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC) recently partnered with Graftel, Incorporated under an exclusive license agreement for the manufacture and sale of the Smart Current Signature Sensor. The Smart Current Signature Sensor and software were designed and developed to be utilized on any application using solenoid valves. The system monitors the electrical and mechanical health of solenoids by comparing the electrical current profile of each solenoid actuation to a typical current profile and reporting deviation from its learned behavior. The objective of this partnership is for Graftel to develop the technology into a handheld testing device for its customer base in the nuclear power industry. The device will be used to perform diagnostic testing on electromechanical valves used in nuclear power plants. Initially, Graftel plans to have working units within the first year of license in order to show customers and allow them to include purchase requests in their next year's budget.
The subject technology under discussion was commercialized by the Kennedy Space Center Technology Programs and Partnerships Office, which patented the technology and licensed it to Graftel, a company providing support, instrumentation, and calibration services to the nuclear community and private sector for over 10 years. For the nuclear power industry, Graftel designs, manufactures, and calibrates a full line of testing instrumentation. Graftel's smart sensors have been in use in the United States since 1993 and have proved to decrease set-up time and test durations. The project was funded by Non-Destructive Engineering, and it is felt that this technology will have more emphasis on future vehicles.
Graftel plans to market the Current Signature Sensor to the electric utility industry. Graftel currently supplies products and services to the nuclear power industry in the United States, as well as internationally. Products and services sold are used in nondestructive testing for valves, penetrations and other applications. Graftel also supplies testing services to an industrial customer base. That base includes 90 percent of the U.S. nuclear plants and plants in Brazil, Europe, and Asia. Graftel works internationally with two representative groups and employees, and has ten people at the principal location and a group of contract engineers around the country.
The benefits of the Smart Current Signature Sensor are several. One of the main benefits provided by the system is the ability to detect potential failures and operational degradation of solenoid valves that will cause failures in the near future and notify users before they happen (valve health prognosis). Such capability greatly increases the safety, reliability and availability of the systems being instrumented with this device. Additionally, this approach will provide cost savings associated with failure consequences such as launch scrubs, etc. The Smart Current Signature Sensor was designed and developed to be utilized by the space program on its ground support equipment and vehicle valves. Because of the uniqueness of the application, the sensor was designed with such flexibility that it could be utilized on any application using solenoid valves. An important advantage is that the system learns from good solenoid valves and reports deviation from its learned behavior; therefore, it is suitable for any aerospace application. Two additional major benefits of the software are the automatic identification of the features using a very small sample of the current signature, and enhancements to the difference filter that provide a method to control the amount of noise rejection.
