LUNA INNOVATIONS INCORPORATED — Department of Defense SBIR Phase I: AF191-016

Description

In February 2018 the 19th Air Force grounded all T-6 Texan II trainer aircraft after multiple reports of pilots experiencing Unexplained Physiological Events (UPE) during flight operation. To quickly resolve the problem, the Air Force created and deployed a breathing air quality monitoring system, enabling clearance of multiple F-35 and T-6 aircraft from the “groundedâ€Â status; however, the existing solution is enclosed in a large case making it difficult to handle within a cockpit. Also, due to lack of an easily assembled design, the existing air quality inspection system takes a substantial amount of time to produce. To enable improved monitoring of pilot breathing air quality, Luna proposes the development of a low-cost, long-lasting, compact, manufacturable, Breathing Air Sampling and Inspection System that is easily integrated into existing aircraft pilot breathing regulator systems during preflight checks. Through the use of low cost, easy to implement, commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) sensors, the developed system will obtain air quality information by monitoring gases of interest, VOC’s, ultrafine particles, temperature, relative humidity, flow, and pressure ensuring the safety of pilot breathing air. The proposed sensor system will be designed in an enclosure that is 88% smaller in volume compared to the existing solution.