Damage detection for mechanical waveguide sensor

1. A method of monitoring a sensor of the type including a mechanical waveguide including an ultrasonically-transmissive material, the method comprising:

receiving an ultrasonic signal propagated through the waveguide in response to ultrasonic stress waves introduced to the waveguide;

comparing the received ultrasonic signal to a baseline signature for the sensor; and

identifying a fault in the sensor based upon the comparison.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the sensor further includes an ultrasonic transducer coupled to the waveguide and configured to propagate the ultrasonic stress waves through the waveguide and a receiver coupled to the waveguide and configured to receive the ultrasonic signal propagated through the waveguide in response to the ultrasonic stress waves generated by the ultrasonic transducer, and wherein identifying the fault in the sensor includes identifying a fault in the ultrasonic transducer or the receiver based on the comparison.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the sensor further includes one or more electronic components, the one or more components including an analog to digital converter, a digital to analog converter and/or an amplifier, and wherein identifying the fault in the sensor includes identifying a fault in the one or more components based on the comparison.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein identifying the fault in the sensor includes identifying a fault in the waveguide based upon the comparison, and wherein identifying the fault in the waveguide includes identifying an abrasion, erosion, corrosion or buildup of material from an environment on the waveguide based upon the comparison.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein identifying the fault in the sensor includes identifying a fault in the waveguide based upon the comparison, and wherein identifying the fault in the waveguide includes identifying a deformation in the waveguide based upon the comparison.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein identifying the fault in the sensor includes identifying a fault in the waveguide based upon the comparison, and wherein identifying the fault in the waveguide includes identifying a break in the waveguide based upon the comparison.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the baseline signature identifies a pulse echo response for the waveguide, wherein the method further comprises generating the ultrasonic stress waves by generating a pulsed ultrasonic signal such that the received ultrasonic signal includes one or more reflection pulses, and wherein comparing the received ultrasonic signal to the baseline signature includes comparing the one or more reflection pulses in the received ultrasonic signal with the pulse echo response identified by the baseline signature.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein identifying the fault in the sensor includes identifying a break in the waveguide in response to a missing reflection pulse in the received ultrasonic signal.

9. The method of claim 7 , wherein identifying the fault in the sensor includes identifying a deformation in the waveguide in response to an unexpected reflection pulse in the received ultrasonic signal.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein identifying the fault in the sensor further includes determining a location of the deformation based upon an arrival time of the unexpected reflection pulse in the received ultrasonic signal relative to one or more expected reflection pulses in the received ultrasonic signal.

11. The method of claim 7 , wherein identifying the fault in the sensor includes identifying an amplitude change in the received ultrasonic signal relative to the baseline signature.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein receiving the ultrasonic signal, comparing the received ultrasonic signal to the baseline signature, and identifying the fault are performed during initialization of the sensor.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein receiving the ultrasonic signal and comparing the received ultrasonic signal to the baseline signature are repeatedly performed from time to time during operation of the sensor.

14. The method of claim 1 , further comprising generating the baseline signature by generating a test ultrasonic signal to propagate test ultrasonic stress waves through the waveguide and capturing a response thereto for the waveguide.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein generating the test ultrasonic signal includes generating a pulsed ultrasonic signal, and wherein capturing the response includes capturing a pulse echo response for the waveguide.

16. The method of claim 14 , wherein generating the baseline signature is performed during manufacture, testing, installation or initial setup of the sensor.

17. The method of claim 14 , wherein generating the baseline signature is performed during development of the sensor.

18. The method of claim 1 , wherein the waveguide includes a plurality of reflection points defined along a length of the waveguide to define a plurality of sensing regions along the waveguide, and wherein the baseline signature identifies expected reflection pulses corresponding to the plurality of reflection points.

19. The method of claim 1 , further comprising determining an identifier for the sensor based upon the received ultrasonic signal.

20. The method of claim 19 , wherein determining the identifier includes determining a time of arrival for each of a plurality of identifier reflection pulses corresponding to identifier reflection points in the waveguide.

21. A method of characterizing a sensor of the type including a mechanical waveguide including an ultrasonically-transmissive material, the method comprising:

generating a test ultrasonic signal to propagate test ultrasonic stress waves through the waveguide, wherein generating the test ultrasonic signal includes generating a pulsed ultrasonic signal;

capturing a pulse echo response to the test ultrasonic stress waves propagated through the waveguide; and

generating a baseline signature for the sensor from the captured pulse echo response, the baseline signature including an expected pulse echo response including one or more reflection pulses usable for identifying a fault in the sensor based upon a comparison of the expected pulse echo response of the baseline signature with an ultrasonic signal received from the waveguide during operation of the sensor.

22. A sensor for sensing an environmental condition in an environment, comprising:

a mechanical waveguide including an ultrasonically-transmissive material; and

control logic coupled to the mechanical waveguide and configured to receive an ultrasonic signal propagated though the mechanical waveguide in response to ultrasonic stress waves introduced to the waveguide, to determine a value of the environmental condition based upon the received ultrasonic signal, and to identify a fault based upon a comparison of the received ultrasonic signal with a baseline signature for the sensor.

23. The sensor of claim 22 , wherein the mechanical waveguide is an active mechanical waveguide including a plurality of reflection points defined along a length of the waveguide to define a plurality of sensing regions along the waveguide.

24. The sensor of claim 22 , wherein the sensor further includes:

an ultrasonic transducer coupled to the waveguide and configured to propagate the ultrasonic stress waves through the waveguide; and

a receiver coupled to the waveguide and configured to receive the ultrasonic signal propagated through the waveguide in response to the ultrasonic stress waves generated by the ultrasonic transducer;

wherein the control logic is configured to identify the fault in the sensor by identifying a fault in the ultrasonic transducer or the receiver based on the comparison.

25. The sensor of claim 24 , wherein the sensor further includes one or more electronic components, the one or more components including an analog to digital converter, a digital to analog converter and/or an amplifier, and wherein the control logic is configured to identify the fault in the sensor by identifying a fault in the one or more components based on the comparison.

26. The sensor of claim 22 , wherein the control logic is configured to identify the fault in the sensor by identifying a fault in the waveguide based upon the comparison.

27. The sensor of claim 26 , wherein the control logic is configured to identify the fault in the waveguide by identifying an abrasion, erosion, corrosion or buildup of material from an environment on the waveguide based upon the comparison.

28. The sensor of claim 26 , wherein the control logic is configured to identify the fault in the waveguide by identifying a deformation in the waveguide based upon the comparison.

29. The sensor of claim 26 , wherein the control logic is configured to identify the fault in the waveguide by identifying a break in the waveguide based upon the comparison.

30. The sensor of claim 22 , wherein the baseline signature identifies a pulse echo response for the waveguide, wherein the control logic is configured to generate the ultrasonic stress waves by generating a pulsed ultrasonic signal such that the received ultrasonic signal includes one or more reflection pulses, and wherein the control logic is further configured to compare the received ultrasonic signal to the baseline signature by comparing the one or more reflection pulses in the received ultrasonic signal with the pulse echo response identified by the baseline signature.

31. The sensor of claim 30 , wherein the control logic is configured to identify the fault in the sensor by identifying a break in the waveguide in response to a missing reflection pulse in the received ultrasonic signal.

32. The sensor of claim 30 , wherein the control logic is configured to identify the fault in the sensor by identifying a deformation in the waveguide in response to an unexpected reflection pulse in the received ultrasonic signal.

33. The sensor of claim 32 , wherein the control logic is configured to identify the fault in the sensor further by determining a location of the deformation based upon an arrival time of the unexpected reflection pulse in the received ultrasonic signal relative to one or more expected reflection pulses in the received ultrasonic signal.

34. The sensor of claim 22 , wherein the control logic is configured to receive the ultrasonic signal, compare the received ultrasonic signal to the baseline signature, and identify the fault during initialization of the sensor.

35. The sensor of claim 22 , wherein the control logic is configured to receive the ultrasonic signal, compare the received ultrasonic signal to the baseline signature, and identify the fault during operation of the sensor.

36. The sensor of claim 22 , wherein the control logic is further configured to generate the baseline signature by generating a test ultrasonic signal to propagate test ultrasonic stress waves through the waveguide and capture a response thereto for the waveguide.

37. The sensor of claim 36 , wherein the control logic is configured to generate the test ultrasonic signal by generating a pulsed ultrasonic signal, and wherein the control logic is configured to capture the response by capturing a pulse echo response for the waveguide.

38. The sensor of claim 22 , wherein the waveguide includes a plurality of reflection points defined along a length of the waveguide to define a plurality of sensing regions along the waveguide, and wherein the baseline signature identifies expected reflection pulses corresponding to the plurality of reflection points.

39. The sensor of claim 22 , wherein the control logic is further configured to determine an identifier for the sensor based upon the received ultrasonic signal.

40. The sensor of claim 39 , wherein the control logic is configured to determine the identifier by determining a time of arrival for each of a plurality of identifier reflection pulses corresponding to identifier reflection points in the waveguide.