VADUM INC — Department of Defense SBIR Phase I: MDA15-025

Description

Vadum will develop a handheld Multi-Modal Galvanic Corrosion Sensor (MMGCS) to detect hidden corrosion, such as under paint, in missile, aircraft, and ship structures before it can be detected by traditional non-destructive testingand visual methods. The sensor head ensures optimal alignment of transmit and receive antennas for non-contacting near-field measurements. The transceiver can sweep the transmit power and tone spacing, and can perform phase measurements of the intermodulation distortion (IMD) products. The flexibility of the transceiver enables both two-tone probing to characterize passive intermodulation (PIM) distortion and one-tone probing to characterize harmonic distortion. By measuring both the amplitude and the phase, the MMGCS can fully characterize the source of the nonlinearity. A model-based classifier is used to estimate corrosion severity and ignore clutter. The MMGCS requires no surface preparation and can inspect large surface areas quickly. Automating the measurement process allows individuals with minimal training to objectively assess corrosion damage.(Approved for Public Release 15-MDA-8482 (17 November 15))