WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind., July 15 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists are developing ways to protect spacecraft by using shifts in sound and vibration to spot damage in a vehicle's heat shield as it occurs.
The researchers found cracks or other flaws in the shield produced different vibration patterns. The system's sensors would be able to detect these flaws, potentially finding damage so small it might otherwise be missed and lead to accidents.
Because of the way vibrations travel though the panels, the sensors should be most effective during liftoff and landing, when the heat shield is subject to the greatest pressures and temperatures.
Studies were done on a new type of heat shield made of tiles with a metal honeycomb center sandwiched between metal sheets. The U.S. Air Force is paying for the studies as part of an effort to find heat shields that are easier to repair than the ceramic tiles used on the space shuttles.
Douglas Adams, assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., presented a paper on the system July 7 at a structures conference in Munich.
