JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #85 - November/December 2013 - 53

Tab. 2: Terms of use

Environmental

Level A

Level B

Operating
temperature

0°C to 55°C

-40°C to 85°C

Storage
temperature

-50°C to 125°C

-50°C to 125°C

Humidityoperating

0 to 100%
non-condensing

0 to 100%
non-condensing

Storage humidity

0 to 100%

0 to 100%

Vibration random

N/A

0.1 g2/Hz 10 - 3 kHz

Shock

N/A

N/A

the first figure.
The second figure
shows the strain
profile with an
applied tip load.
Normally, the
strains would
follow the linear
dashed line, indicating that there is
no damage to the
structural compoFig. 1: Example of composite failure
nent. However, the
delaminated reTab. 1: RTS 150 characteristics
gion disrupts this
profile and yields a
RTS150-8 RTS150-16 RTS150-24 RTS150-32 localized region of
significantly larger
Number of sensors
2048
deformation.
per fibre
4DSP's RTS150
8
16
24
32
Number of fibres
can pick up on
Total number of
this unique strain
16,284
32,768
49,152
65,536
sensors
profile, informing
engineers of the
Sensor resolution
Software selectable (0.1-10 cm)
location, mode,
Fibre lead length
up to 5 km
severity, and
Fibre sensing
propagation of
up to 100 m
capability
composite failure.
Refresh rateper fibre

up to 100 Hz (see note1)

Latency

< 50 ms (see note2)

Power

110 V AC 50-60 Hz, 150 W

Dimensions (mm) 312 x 323 x
(WxHxD)
218
Weight
1
2

11.5 kg

Patent
application

312 x 425 x 218
11.8 kg

12.1 kg

12.4 kg

Contact 4DSP for refresh rate in relation to other parameters
Typical value when refresh rate > 40Hz

Based a revolutionary patentpending technology from NASA,
this product
delivers reliable
measurements in
the most demand-

ing environments. The RTS150 can be
used as a test instrument or embedded
as part of critical applications that require real-time monitoring. The Fibre
Bragg Gratings (FBG) make it possible
to continuously extract environmental
parameters such as strain loads and
temperature gradients. With virtually
weightless sensor arrays, this product
is applicable to structures of any nature
where real-time changes need to be
monitored.
A built-in computer and pre-installed
software make the RTS150 easy to
operate whether by directly connecting
a screen, mouse or keyboard or by accessing it via an Ethernet network.
4DSP realizes that all projects may
need some custom packaging and tools
to meet the size, weight and performance requirements. The company
will work to ensure that all application
sectors can benefit from this technology, for example: aerospace (tracking
structural shapes and aircraft frames),
automotive (studying truck or automobile frames to improve safety or
actively control handling), structures
(monitoring the overall health of structures that undergo constant stress, such
as bridges, dams and buildings), wind
turbines (monitoring blade shapes and
force to improve efficiency and longevity), and medical (determining shape
in non-invasive surgery and probes). n

No85 November - December 2013

More information:
www.4dsp.com

/ jec composites magazine 53
http://www.4dsp.com
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #85 - November/December 2013

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