Integration of optical sensors into materials and devices for the development of composite coatings and smart instruments.

PROJECT COST:

250 000 $

PRIMA CONTRIBUTION:

100 000 $

PROJECT DETAILS:

This two-year project focuses on the integration of Bragg grating optical sensors into materials and equipment used in aerospace engineering and materials science. It aims to determine the performance of protective coatings and high-precision instruments for optimization purposes, to characterize damage caused by fatigue and high-velocity collisions with space debris, and to study the propagation of microcracks within damaged components. Several prototypes capable of providing a precise diagnosis of their structural integrity in real time will be built and tested, in close collaboration with our two industrial partners: MPB Technologie Inc., a company specializing in the manufacture of onboard equipment for space modules, and Plasmionique Inc., which is involved in the development of plasma-assisted deposition and etching systems.

We have three objectives: (i) to help our industrial partners improve the quality and reliability of ultra-high-strength and/or self-healing composites; (ii) to optimize a test bench for conducting reproducible ballistic impact tests; and (iii) to develop new coatings and smart instruments capable of assessing their own physical conditions. All of our activities will be carried out in laboratories in the Montreal area. We plan to recruit a Ph.D. student and a postdoctoral fellow, who will work on this project full-time, assisted by a part-time research associate. We anticipate significant impacts in the fields of fiber-optic sensors and smart materials.