Dake Feng

Self-Powered Event Detection Sensors With Integrated Safety Electronics for Initiation and Switching in Munitions

A new class of self-powered acceleration event detection sensors are presented that are powered by electrical energy harvested during munitions launch by integrated piezoelectric elements. The sensors are provided with a novel safety electronic and logic circuitry that is used to differentiate the firing event from all accidental events such as accidental drops, transportation vibration, and the like. When the launch conditions are detected from the magnitude of the experienced acceleration as well as its duration, the remaining electronics and logics circuitry of the device is enabled. The developed self-powered sensors may also be used in place of G-switches in munitions and other industrial and commercial devices with the advantage of activating not only from the magnitude of the experienced acceleration but also from its duration. The latter capability is essential in many munitions and commercial applications to avoid false switching event. For example in some cases dropping of around over a hard surface may impart higher peak acceleration than actual firing. And in many industrial and commercial devices and equipment, high-G and very short duration shock loadings do not cause damage and G-switches used to deactivate the device may not be desired to trip.Prototypes of the developed piezoelectric-based self-powered event detection sensors as standalone sensors and as switches for detecting and opening or closing circuitry upon detection of shock or vibration loading with prescribed magnitude and duration thresholds with integrated electronics and logics circuitry have been designed, fabricated and successfully tested for a number of munitions and industrial applications. In this paper the design and operation of such devices and their testing are described.Copyright

On The Dynamic Response of Actuation Devices in Nonlinear Dynamics Systems

A method for actuating a motor including: separating feed-forward signals corresponding to motion independent components of a required actuating force/torque from motion dependent components; filtering the motion dependent components of the feed-forward signals to at least reduce high frequency signals generated due to feedback signals; and either not filtering or filtering with a low pass filter having a higher cut off frequency the motion independent components of the feed-forward signals to at least reduce higher frequency noise and components; wherein higher frequency components of electronic power amplifier signals corresponding to the motion independent components of the actuating forces/torques are not eliminated by the low pass filter, thereby ensuring that the reaction forces/torques are provided to actuate the motor.

A review of piezoelectric-based electrical energy harvesting methods and devices for munitions

This paper presents a review of piezoelectric based energy harvesting devices and their charge collection and storage electronics for use in very harsh environment of gun-fired munitions. A number of novel classes of such energy-harvesting power sources that have been developed for gun-fired munitions and similar applications, including one with integrated safety and firing setback event detection electronics and logic circuitry. The power sources are designed to harvest energy from firing acceleration and vibratory motions during the flight. As an example, the application of the developed piezoelectric based energy harvesting devices with event detection circuitry to the development of self-powered initiators or switching devices with full no-fire safety circuitry for protection against accidental drops, transportation vibration, and other similar low amplitude accelerations and/or high amplitude but short duration acceleration events is presented. The designs allow the use of a very small piezoelectric elements, thereby making such devices to be highly miniaturized. These devices can be readily hardened to withstand very high G firing setback accelerations in excess of 100,000 G and the harsh firing environments. The design of prototypes and testing in shock loading machines, air guns and actual firing are presented.

A novel class of MEMS accelerometers for very high-G munitions environment

The state of art in shock resistant MEMS accelerometer design is to reduce the size of the proof-mass, thereby reducing the generated forces and moments due to shock loading. Physical stops are also provided to limit proof-mass motion to prevent damage to various moving components. The reduction of the proof-mass size reduces the sensor sensitivity. In addition, to increase the sensor dynamic response, proof-mass motion needs to be minimally damped, resulting in a significant sensor settling time after experiencing a high shock loading such as those experienced by gun-fired munitions during firing. The settling time is particularly important for accelerometers that are used in gun-fired munitions and mortars for navigation and guidance. This paper describes the development of a novel class of accelerometers that are provided with the means of locking the sensor proof-mass in its “null” position when subjected to acceleration levels above a prescribed threshold, thereby protecting the moving parts of the accelerometer. In munitions applications, the proof-mass is thereby locked in its null position during the firing and is released during the flight to measure flight acceleration with minimal settling time. Details of the design and operation of the developed sensors and results of their prototyping and testing are presented. The application of the developed technology to other types of inertial sensors and devices is discussed.

High power free space optical link for rapid energy and data transmission

Design and experimental data for a high power laser diode based free space point-to-point optical power/data link is presented. In time critical power up applications, such as providing power and guidance information to a munition shell just prior to deployment, energy of the order of 100 J needs to be transferred in under 10 s. Current inductive technology is slow and broadcasts a radio-frequency signal which is undesirable for stealth operation. Rapid energy transfer times require high irradiance levels at the surface of the photovoltaic cells, typically, exceeding 1000X suns. Through efficient thermal design of heat sinks, high optical to electrical power conversion efficiencies of 50%, which are usually attainable at low power levels of 1 W, are achievable at higher power levels.

Non-GPS full position and angular orientation onboard sensors for moving and stationary platforms

Angular orientation of both mobile and stationary objects continues to be an ongoing topic of interest for guidance and control as well as for non-GPS based solutions for geolocations of assets in any environment. Currently available sensors, which include inertia devices such as accelerometers and gyros; magnetometers; surface mounted antennas; radars; GPS; and optical line of sight devices, do not provide an acceptable solution for many applications, particularly for gun-fired munitions and for all-weather and all environment scenarios. A robust onboard full angular orientation sensor solution, based on a scanning polarized reference source and a polarized geometrical cavity orientation sensor, is presented. The full position of the object, in the reference source coordinate system, is determined by combining range data obtained using established time-of-flight techniques, with the angular orientation information.

Piezoelectric-based hybrid reserve power sources for munitions

Reserve power sources are used extensively in munitions and other devices such as emergency devices or remote sensors that have to be powered only once and for a relatively short duration. Current chemical reserve power sources, including thermal batteries and liquid reserve batteries require sometimes in excess of 100 msec to become fully activated. In many applications, however, electrical energy is required in a few msec following the launch event. In such applications, other power sources have to be provided to provide power until the reserve battery is fully activated. The amount of electrical energy that is required by most munitions before chemical reserve batteries are fully activated is generally small and can be provided by properly designed piezoelectric-based energy harvesting devices. In this paper the development of a hybrid reserve power source obtained by the integration of a piezoelectric-based energy harvesting device with a reserve battery that can provide power almost instantaneously upon munitions firing or other similar events is being reported. A review of the state of the art in piezoelectric-based electrical energy harvesting methods and devices and their charge collection electronics for use in the developed hybrid power sources is also provided together with the results of testing of the piezoelectric component of the power source and its electronic safety and charge collection electronics.

High contrast imaging through adaptive transmittance control in the focal plane

High contrast imaging, in the presence of a bright background, is a challenging problem encountered in diverse applications ranging from the daily chore of driving into a sun-drenched scene to in vivo use of biomedical imaging in various types of keyhole surgeries. Imaging in the presence of bright sources saturates the vision system, resulting in loss of scene fidelity, corresponding to low image contrast and reduced resolution. The problem is exacerbated in retro-reflective imaging systems where the light sources illuminating the object are unavoidably strong, typically masking the object features. This manuscript presents a novel theoretical framework, based on nonlinear analysis and adaptive focal plane transmittance, to selectively remove object domain sources of background light from the image plane, resulting in local and global increases in image contrast. The background signal can either be of a global specular nature, giving rise to parallel illumination from the entire object surface or can be represented by a mosaic of randomly orientated, small specular surfaces. The latter is more representative of real world practical imaging systems. Thus, the background signal comprises of groups of oblique rays corresponding to distributions of the mosaic surfaces. Through the imaging system, light from group of like surfaces, converges to a localized spot in the focal plane of the lens and then diverges to cast a localized bright spot in the image plane. Thus, transmittance of a spatial light modulator, positioned in the focal plane, can be adaptively controlled to block a particular source of background light. Consequently, the image plane intensity is entirely due to the object features. Experimental image data is presented to verify the efficacy of the methodology.

Piezoelectric energy-harvesting power source and event detection sensors for gun-fired munitions

This paper presents a review of piezoelectric based energy harvesting devices and their charge collection electronics for use in very harsh environment of gun-fired munitions. A number of novel classes of such energy harvesting power sources have been developed for gun-fired munitions and similar applications, including those with integrated safety and firing setback event detection electronics and logic circuitry. The power sources are designed to harvest energy from firing acceleration and vibratory motions during the flight. As an example, the application of the developed piezoelectric based energy harvesting devices with event detection circuitry for the development of self-powered initiators with full no-fire safety circuitry for protection against accidental drops, transportation vibration, and other similar low amplitude accelerations and/or high amplitude but short duration acceleration events is presented. The design allows the use of a very small piezoelectric element, thereby allowing such devices to be highly miniaturized. These devices can be readily hardened to withstand very high G firing setback accelerations in excess of 100,000 G and the harsh firing environment. The design of prototypes and testing under realistic conditions are presented.

A novel class of MEMS accelerometers for guidance and control of gun-fired munitions

The state of art in shock resistant MEMS accelerometer design is to reduce the size of the proof-mass, thereby reducing the generated forces and moments due to shock loading. Physical stops are also provided to limit proof-mass motion to prevent damage to various moving components. The reduction of the proof-mass size reduces the sensor sensitivity. In addition, to increase the sensor dynamic response, proof-mass motion needs to be minimally damped, resulting in a significant sensor settling time after experiencing a high shock loading such as those experienced by gun-fired munitions during firing. The settling time is particularly important for accelerometers that are used in gun-fired munitions and mortars for navigation and guidance. This paper describes the development of a novel class of accelerometers that are provided with the means of locking the sensor proof-mass in its “null” position when subjected to acceleration levels above prescribed thresholds, thereby protecting the moving parts of the accelerometer. In munitions applications, the proof-mass is thereby locked in its null position during the firing and released during the flight to begin to measure flight acceleration with minimal settling time. Details of the design and operation of the developed sensors and results of their prototyping and testing are presented. The application of the developed technology to other types of inertial sensors and devices is discussed.