Detection of corrosion using dispersed embedded sensors

A data acquisition system for detecting corrosion of an object, the data acquisition system comprising:

• a radio frequency (RF) or an infrared (IR) excitation signal source;
• a transceiver configured for transmitting the RF or IR excitation signal to a corrosion sensor disposed on the object to be sensed by the corrosion sensor, and for receiving the an RF or IR measurement signal generated by the corrosion sensor in response to the RF or IR excitation signal;
• and
• an RF or IR signal analyzer configured for analyzing the measurement signal in order to determine a shift in an RF or IR signal parameter dependent on at least one property indicative of corrosion of the object underlying the corrosion sensor.

A method for detecting corrosion of an object, the method comprising:

• transmitting a radio frequency (RF) or an infrared (IR) excitation signal to a corrosion sensor embedded in a coating material disposed on the object to be sensed by the corrosion sensor, wherein the corrosion sensor has a baseline wavelength-dependent parameter corresponding to an absence of corrosion of the object in a sensing region proximate to and surrounding the corrosion sensor, and the corrosion sensor interacts with the RF or IR excitation signal to produce an RF or IR measurement signal;
• receiving the RF or IR measurement signal;
• measuring an actual wavelength-dependent parameter of the measurement signal;
• and
• determining whether corrosion of the object has occurred in the sensing region based on a difference between the baseline wavelength-dependent parameter and the actual wavelength-dependent parameter.