Space Technology Special Report - Version B. July 2023 - 25

approach uses sensors to capture
data throughout an object's lifecycle.
The data collected from
" smart webbing " could be used
for many applications:
* Optimizing process control by
using data to increase quality,
efficiency, and effectiveness.
* Centralizing reporting by
characterizing operational norms,
preventing false alarms, and
gaining the ability to access
information from anywhere.
While the space habitat SHM
application focuses on strain
measurement, examples of the kind of
data that might be measured include:
* Strain: Wear and tear, fatigue,
aging, structural health, safety
* Temperature: Material joints,
process control, safety
Embedded sensors for structural health monitoring of inflatable space habitats. (Image: Luna
Innovations, Inc.)
* Intrusion detection, process
control, safety
* Vessel pressure
* Flow rate, quality (contamination,
transmitted material
formulation), volumes.
For the space habitat SHM
Start-up samples are woven based on benchtop analysis and then adjusted to ensure they comply
with sensor location specifications. (Image: Bally Ribbon Mills)
BRM successfully wove the material
and passed it along to Luna. Fifteen
years later, Luna came back to
collaborate with BRM on a NASA
multi-phase grant award examining
whether the embedded sensor
technology could survive all the
SPACE TECHNOLOGY SPECIAL REPORT
required manufacturing processes for
use in inflatable habitat structures
being developed for upcoming space
missions. During this phase, the
focus is on integrating fiber optic
sensors into Vectran webbing for
inflatable space habitat SHM. The
application, the long-term goal was
to be able to measure stress, strain,
and temperature, and to pinpoint
the location of important events.
During this project, BRM integrated
Luna fiber optic sensors into Vectran
webbing. The BRM materials served
as woven optical carriers, which are
critical in applications that experience
high strain. Carriers add reinforcement
to fiber optic sensors and prevent
high strain from being transferred
directly to the fiber. Sensors are woven
into the carrier and then embedded
into a material. The carriers serve
as component parts in the eventual
construction of assemblies that
capture and transmit information to a
downstream computing technology.
The weaving technology enables
the measurement and conversion of
information to knowledge and action.
The resulting benefits include the
ability to take corrective action based
on improved monitoring capability;
the actuation of human/machine
involvement; the transformation of
JULY 2023 25

Space Technology Special Report - Version B. July 2023

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