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SDRC Team Selected by the Air Force to Develop a System for Monitoring Critical Strain & Temperature Data in Gas Turbine Engines

SAN DIEGO, California (4/7/2006) - SDRC (San Diego Research Center, Inc.), a leader in wireless network research and system development in the defense sector, and the University of Rhode Island's (URI) Sensor and Surface Technology Partnership led by Dr. Otto Gregory, will develop and demonstrate a system for monitoring critical strain and temperature data in gas turbine engines. This system will be based on SDRC's passive, thin-film wireless strain gauge transponder technology. The Air Force has expressed great interest in using transponder technology for development testing of turbine engines.  In both commercial and military markets, this new wireless strain gauge technology will make gas turbine engine health management and feedback control systems more practical. It can also provide control and health monitoring for gas turbine-based power plants.

According to SDRC's Principal Investigator, John Conkle, "This new monitoring technology will enable a dramatic improvement in the reliability of strain measurements that are now accomplished through slip-ring connections that routinely fail after a short operational use."  

This Phase 1 Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program, entitled "Telemetry for Testing Applications," is currently being negotiated with the Air Force.

About the SBIR program: The Department of Defense (DoD) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs fund a billion dollars each year in early-stage R&D projects at small technology companies - projects that serve a DoD need and have commercial applications. SBIR and STTR funds are awarded competitively and small companies retain the intellectual property rights to technologies they develop under these programs.

About SDRC: SDRC is a wireless technology research and system development company focusing on challenging and important opportunities in government and commercial communications markets.

About URI and Dr. Otto Gregory: Dr. Gregory has developed a widely recognized research program (the University of Rhode Island's (URI) Sensor and Surface Technology Partnership) in thin film material science, where his research has focused on thin film sensors and semiconductor devices. His work has been funded by the gas turbine engine industry, NASA, DOE, and NSF for the last 18 years, the bulk of which has been dedicated to temperature sensors and strain sensors for advanced aerospace and power generation applications.

Media Contact: Ted Balleras (858) 623-9424 ext. 408 or ted.balleras@argonst.com