Background
Radioactive Tracer Technology (RATT) has been used at SwRI for over 60 years. The process involves activating the bulk material or surface of engine components that are then assembled in the engine and the engine operated. The oil from the engine sump is taken and pumped through a detector that detects the level of activity in the oil. As the engine wears, the isotopes on the wear surfaces become wear particles in the oil where they are detected by the detector. In this way, real-time wear of the engine can be studied. The current method uses very old hardware and software, and it is separate from the engine control system. This makes operating the test and recording the data challenging.
Approach
The first IR was to investigate the feasibility of updating and integrating the systems together so they could be run more reliably, and so that the system can be more robust. Having concluded that this was possible and that several approaches were possible at different levels of integration, the second IR was requested and awarded. This second IR was to undertake the update and integration. The update included updating the software and the hardware, and the integration was to make all the different parts talk to each other so they could be operated more simply and so that results could be seen in almost real time.
Accomplishments
The first IR was accomplished by concluding that full integration was possible. The second IR has to-date updated the software and hardware and integrated the RATT methodology with the engine control system. Currently, the near-real-time data processing is being worked on, and the project team is awaiting the correct stage in a commercial project to test this integration and data processing.