Assuring the integrity of high-energy rotating parts in aircraft engines is of utmost importance to manufacturers and end users. Because of their complex shapes and unique material properties, some titanium components are quite difficult to inspect using conventional NDE methods. Features such as small diameter, high length-to-diameter (L/D) bores, for example, are particularly difficult to inspect for machining-induced flaws such as microstructural anomalies, inclusions, smearing and cracks. However, flaws of this type can cause a severe reduction of fatigue life, particularly when occurring on highly stressed aircraft engine parts. Visual inspection methods rely on the operators ability to clearly see sometimes very subtle changes in surface color or reflectivity. Mirrors, borescopes and other optical devices are often used to inspect difficult-to-access surfaces, but they can produce distorted or otherwise inadequate images. In addition, a human observer may miss positive indications for a number of reasons, such as awkward viewing angles, poor contrast, inattentiveness or fatigue. A study was conducted for MANHIRP to investigate the feasibility of employing automated laser-based NDE methods to improve the process by which safety-critical aircraft engine components are inspected. The study demonstrated that by employing state-of-the-art laser-based NDE technology, automated, high-resolution laser-based sensors can be employed on difficult-toinspect features such as small diameter tubes and high L/D bores. These sensors can be integrated with existing conventional NDE methods, such as eddy current, to eliminate operator subjectivity and human error. They can rapidly scan up to 100% of the surface, providing quantitative results that can be used to confirm, document and track the integrity of safety-critical components.
Laser-based NDT of titanium aircraft engine components
Laserbasierte ZfP von Flugzeugtriebwerkskomponenten aus Titan
2004
7 Seiten, 9 Bilder, 3 Quellen
(Nicht paginiert)
Conference paper
Storage medium
English
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