AFRL Completes Successful Dual-Use Science and Technology Initiative Published Dec. 4, 2006 By Propulsion Directorate AFRL/PR WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio -- AFRL, in partnership with Williams International and Hood Technology Corporation, managed a Dual-Use Science and Technology initiative to advance Nonintrusive Stress Measurement System (NSMS) technology for small turbine engines. Exploiting initial NSMS research conducted by the Arnold Engineering Development Center, the team developed and demonstrated a suitable NSMS for use in current and future generations of small gas turbine engines. The team used the high-pressure compressor of the XTL-87 Joint Expendable Turbine Engine Concept technology demonstrator engine to baseline system design requirements for the effort. The primary goal was to apply a version of Hood Technology's successful large-engine turbine blade measurement system to Williams International's smaller gas turbine engines. Hood expanded the system's sensor capability by decreasing the sensor's size, improving its resolution, and expanding its operational temperature range, enabling the measurement system to detect the position of extremely small airfoils at the high shaft speeds and discharge temperatures typical for small turbine engines. The resulting small-engine NSMS can detect damaging resonance conditions and provide accurate data related to blade stress.