Chapter 27: Automotive and Aerospace Applications

INTRODUCTION By the nature of their trainability to a broad range of compounds, electronic noses are a good choice for air quality monitoring in an environment where the possible contaminants are known. The trainability of an electronic nose, along with the ability to select sensors for response to a suite of compounds has made this type of device useful in several applications; in this chapter we will discuss its application to monitoring the breathing air in an enclosed space for the presence of hazardous compounds. The application of an electronic nose as an air quality monitor is as an event monitor, where events of low concentration which do not present a hazard are not reported, but events of concentration approaching a hazardous level are reported so remedial action can be taken. The electronic nose used in these applications is not an analytical device which analyzes the air for all compounds present, but neither is it an alarm which sounds at the presence of any change in the atmosphere. The device described here was used as an air quality monitor in an experiment aboard NASA’s Space Shuttle Flight STS-95, and was designed to fill the gap between an alarm with no ability to distinguish among compounds and an analytical instrument.