SBIR-STTR Award

Failure of air cleaner systems is a major cause of engine failure. A need exists for a detector to indicate when particles are entering the engine. The proposed detector provides a low cost solution to the problem. The proposed project will consist of: 1) designing and fabricating the detector; 2) developing and fabricating the signal processing electronics; and 3) evaluating the detector. The proposed design will provide a simple warning to the operator, and can also supply more sophisticated data for prognostic applications. The proposed project will prove the feasibility of the design and result in the delivery of prototype hardware.

A leak in a vehicle's air intake system can allow in large amounts of road dust. Dust can quickly ruin the engine if the leak goes unnoticed. The dust detector gives the driver an immediate warning of an IR intake leak. The dust detector monitors dust particles above a certain size in the air intake system. A leak causes an increase in dust particles, which the dust detector measures. If the particle count is great enough, an alarm sounds within seconds. TSI proposes to engineer a ruggest dust detector that will operate on various military vehicles.