Thermal Wave Imaging, Inc. will study the feasibility of a handheld device for quantitative identification and measurement of hidden corrosion, using pulsed thermography. The device will be capable of field operation under battery power, and in confined spaces where physical access to the sample… More

As the field has developed, three primary methods for performing IR Nondestructive Inspection (NDI) have emerged, each employing a different mode of excitation (pulsed, stepped, lock-in) of the sample. Researchers have demonstrated impressive results on a wide variety of materials using all … More

As the field has developed, three primary methods for performing IR Nondestructive Inspection (NDI) have emerged, each employing a different mode of excitation (pulsed, stepped, lock-in) of the sample. Researchers have demonstrated impressive results on a wide variety of materials using all … More

The increased use of composite materials in the manufacture of structural aircraft components such as the V-22 tiltrotor requires that Nondestructive Evaluation is performed frequently in the early stages of the fabrication process. Although PulsedThermography has been demonstrated to be an… More

Fast, portable IR NDE systems capable of automated operation and quantitative defect measurement are now commercially available, and have been credited with significant cost savings in aerospace manufacturing and service sectors. However, despite advantages of speed and wide area, non-contact… More

Fast, portable IR NDE systems capable of automated operation and quantitative defect measurement are now commercially available, and have been credited with significant cost savings in aerospace manufacturing and service sectors. However, despite advantages of speed and wide area, non-contact… More

We will investigate the feasibility of thermographic inspection system that employs a small, handheld inspection head, which is swept over an area to be inspected, using IR transmitting fibers and a fiber coupled laser-heating system. The system, if successful, will allow more precise control of… More

Rapid growth in the performance and capabilities of thermography, and the increased use of composite materials in the construction and repair of military and commercial aircraft, has strongly positioned it as a viable NDI technique. In Phase I, ThermalWave Imaging, Inc. and UD-CCM propose to develop… More

Rapid growth in the performance and capabilities of pulsed thermography, and the increased use of composite materials in the construction and repair of military and commercial aircraft, has strongly positioned it as a viable NDI technique. Thistechnology, as it currently stands, is a widely… More

At present, turbine NDE is typically a time consuming collection of inspections that includes manual testing of holes and channels for blockages, multiple flow tests and various inspection technologies such as ultrasound, eddy current and radiography. Thermography has also become a widely method… More

N07-118 Rapid and Conformable Field Repair and NDE of Rotor Blade Skins and Honeycomb in Blade Afterbody The integration of composite materials into modern military aircraft has provided numerous benefits to the armed forces due to superior strength-to-weight performance and corrosion immunity. … More

Comprehensive nondestructive Inspection (NDI) of aircraft turbine blades and vanes currently involves a sequence of separate inspections that may involve flow measurement, radiography, ultrasound and wire testing. The process is time-consuming and expensive, and several key inspections rely on… More

Composite aircraft structures present significant inspection challenges to most NDI methods. Most widely used NDI modalities, e.g. visual inspection and coin tap, have little or no relevance to composite aircraft. These are typically qualitative techniques that are difficult to replicate, and depend… More

Automated, rapid, non-destructive inspection of large scale composite structures is an ongoing challenge for just about every NDI technology currently deployed in the aerospace, power generation, wind energy, and automotive industries. Both hardware and software limitations have dictated the level… More