The present invention concerns the detection of impacts on aeronautic propeller blades.
The object of the invention is to propose a device permitting knowing, over the service life of a blade, during planned maintenance or in the case of an incident, whether the blade had been subjected to impacts beyond the levels normally encountered in normal use. The invention proposes a reliable and autonomous means for detecting and recording any abnormal impact during use, which means can be consulted during maintenance operations.
The invention achieves this object by means of a device for detecting and recording impacts along several axes of an aeronautic propeller blade, characterized in that it comprises an accelerometer integrated at the center of an aeronautic propeller blade root and an electronic module to record, during its entire service life, any occurrence of impact at various predetermined levels.
Advantageously, the device comprises an accelerometer with at least two axes integrated at the top of the blade equilibration device and it records impacts in two planes perpendicular to the axis of the blade.
The accelerometer signals can be transmitted remotely to an electronic module situated in any location whatever, and which makes the recordings; however, advantageously, the electronic module (and all its attached elements such as the power supply that also serves the accelerometer) can also be integrated into the root of the blade, so that the device forms a completely autonomous unit integrated into the blade.
Thus, according to the invention, in order to monitor, count and record abnormal impacts, a 2- or 3-axis accelerometer is integrated, which is connected to an autonomous electronic module supplying the accelerometer, recovering the data sent back from the accelerometer, so as to compare the data to predetermined levels, storing occurrences beyond predetermined levels in memory and integrating a memory reading device, either by direct connection, or by UHF remote transmission.
The invention therefore proposes integrating at the root of the blade a completely autonomous system for measuring and recording impacts beyond predefined thresholds, so as to monitor by interrogating the system, the number of cases encountered in use for the different predefined thresholds.
The invention will be better understood and the other advantages and characteristics will become apparent upon reading the following description referring to the attached drawings in which:
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
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PCT/FR02/01727 | 5/22/2002 | WO | 8/15/2005 |