The rotor of a rotating wing aircraft is the main load bearing structure and consequently faces different kinds of stresses during a flight profile. Sensors may be added to a rotor hub for purposes of health monitoring, with a view towards condition-based maintenance (CBM).
Sensors on the rotor hub need power in order to: (1) sense the data, and (2) communicate sensed data to a processing unit where it is collated and processed into information needed for CBM or diagnostics, prognostics, and health management (DPHM). Providing power is a challenge due to at least two factors: (1) use of batteries as a power source being impractical due to the finite life of the battery and a lack of serviceable access to replace worn batteries, and (2) using of wiring harnesses being unreliable due to stresses and environmental conditions. Similarly, communications with sensors on the hub is challenging for at least two reasons: (1) wiring harnesses (or a lack thereof) for traditional wired communications, and (2) E-field interference from electro-magnetic (EM) sources on the aircraft and intentional jammers for traditional wireless communications.