Lessons Learned from Health Monitoring of Rocket Motors

Over the past twenty or so years research programs investigating structural health monitoring of rocket motors has resulted in significant progress. On the experimental side the physics of fibre optic strain sensors, micro-electronic stress transducers, and chemical sensing devices have become more mature and several devices have achieved a technical readiness level of five and above. However, the specific applications to health monitoring of solid rocket motors, the details of implementation, calibration, safety and the associated algorithms are still under development. This paper will review current embedded sensors technology and give, in general terms, the recommended practices on how to select, install, calibrate and process data obtained from stress sensors installed in rocket motors filled with energetic materials. As well as, “lessons learned” when using these sensors to evaluate the health of a rocket motor, typical results will be shown and discussed to illustrate the potential of the technology.