Component and system for remote health monitoring

A gas turbine engine, the gas turbine engine comprising:

• a component comprising an outer surface and a plurality of layers of material, the outer surface covering one or more layers of the plurality of layers of material;
• a sensor network positioned along at least one layer of the plurality of layers of material and being covered by the outer surface, the sensor network comprising a transmitter and a plurality of receivers, the transmitter being located within a first region of the component, and the plurality of receivers being located within a second region of the component, the first region being separate from the region;
• and
• a computing system comprising:
• a communications interface module;
• and
• one or more memory devices and one or more processors, wherein the one or more memory devices is configured to store instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, causes the one or more processors to:
• transmit, via the transmitter, an electromagnetic signal from the first region and to the second region, the electromagnetic signal being transmitted through a third region of the component between the first region and the second region;
• determine which receiver of the plurality of receivers received the electromagnetic signal;
• transmit, via the transmitter, and to the communications interface module an output signal indicative of an array of the plurality of receivers that received the electromagnetic signal;
• and
• determine a health condition based on comparing the output signal to a nominal operating state of the component, wherein if two or more receivers of the plurality of receivers received the electromagnetic signal, the output signal is indicative of damage located within the third region.

A computer-implemented method for monitoring a health condition of an engine component being one of an airfoil, a strut, or a casing of an engine, the method comprising:

• transmitting, via one or more transmitters positioned at a first region of the engine component, an electromagnetic signal to a respective receiver of a plurality of receivers, the plurality of receivers being located within a second region, spaced from the first region, of the engine component, the electromagnetic signal being transmitted through a third region of the engine component, the third region being defined by a body of the engine component formed between the first region and the second region;
• determining which receiver of the plurality of receivers receive the electromagnetic signal;
• transmitting, via the one or more transmitters, and to a communications interface module, an output signal indicative of an array of the plurality of receivers that received the electromagnetic signal;
• and
• determining, via one or more processors of a computing system, the health condition based on comparing the output signal to a nominal operating state of the engine component, wherein if two or more receivers of the plurality of receivers received the electromagnetic signal, the output signal is indicative of damage located within the third region.