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Abstract Experimental studies of turbine engine sand, dust, and ash ingestion have shown that certain constituents, typically such as Calcium, Magnesium, Aluminum, and Silicon (CMAS) compound minerals and/or Chlorides and Sulfates, are particularly detrimental to engine turbine components. These reactive media undergo a phase change from solid to semi-solid as they pass through the combustion section of the engine under certain conditions characterized by size and mass. The phase change allows them to adhere to various turbine components including but not limited to stator vanes, rotor blades and shrouds. Unfortunately, with no on-board sensing technology the only warning signs that the flight crew has to an impeding airborne particle ingestion problem are lagging indicators, such as the St. Elmo’s Fire effect seen at night when charged ash particles hit the aircraft or a sulphurous smell and dust within the cabin. Hence, a sensor system that can measure the composition, size and concentration of particles being ingested by a gas turbine while in flight can provide pilots the warning they need to limit damage by either exiting the area or taking other actions to avoid prolonged exposure that can lead to serious damage mechanisms, both in the military where operational limits are always pushed to the extreme, and in the commercial area where safety is paramount. The current paper reports on the maturation of an in-situ, advanced monitoring and measurement of sand (AMMoS) sensor system that can be integrated at several places within an engine (e.g. aircraft inlet, engine inlet, engine bypass, engine gas path) with minimum modifications. The AMMoS system can provide measurements of composition, size and concentration for particles ingested by the engine. The current paper describes maturation efforts involving AMMoS system validation for particle size and system operation under various particle loading conditions. A dedicated test apparatus was assembled to facilitate the use of image-based diagnostics for providing independent measurements on the particle laden flow environment.