Economical approach to automated eddy current inspection

David Raulerson; Kevin D. Smith; R. Robert Stephan

doi:10.1117/12.259113

14 November 1996 Economical approach to automated eddy current inspection

David Raulerson, Kevin D. Smith, R. Robert Stephan

Proceedings Volume 2945, Nondestructive Evaluation of Aging Aircraft, Airports, and Aerospace Hardware; (1996) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.259113
Event: Nondestructive Evaluation Techniques for Aging Infrastructure and Manufacturing, 1996, Scottsdale, AZ, United States

Abstract

Eddy current inspection has long been recognized as a very sensitive and highly reliable means of detecting surface cracks in aerospace components, especially gas turbine engines. A number of factors such as equipment cost, false rejections, and throughput impacts have limited its application in the industry. All of these factors ultimately relate to the cost associated with the inspection. In the Air Force products produced to the ENSIP or PPSIP criteria, fracture critical components with relatively small flaw sizes are typically inspected as part of the production process and at their predetermined overhaul interval. The use of a hard inspection interval that requires the engine be disassembled and inspected at predetermined points in its life is fundamental for Air Force engines. In both the production and overhaul environment, dedicated facilities that utilize fully automated systems have become the norm. Fully automated systems utilize as many as seven axes and typically cost well over 1 million dollars per system require highly trained individual s to program them for new inspections. Typically, these systems are housed in their own facility which also adversely affects cost effectiveness. Once in operation, these systems can achieve crack sensitivities as small as 0.005 inches deep. To use these systems, the parts must be fully disassembled and cleaned prior to inspection. In the case of very small flaw size requirements, the parts are frequently polished to achieve an acceptable surface condition. These systems have been used very effectively in the maintenance of modern fighter engines.

Citation Download Citation

David Raulerson, Kevin D. Smith, and R. Robert Stephan "Economical approach to automated eddy current inspection", Proc. SPIE 2945, Nondestructive Evaluation of Aging Aircraft, Airports, and Aerospace Hardware, (14 November 1996); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.259113

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available

Members: $17.00

Non-members: $21.00 ADD TO CART

PROCEEDINGS
3 PAGES

DOWNLOAD PAPER SAVE TO MY LIBRARY

GET CITATION

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

Get copyright permission Get copyright permission on Copyright Marketplace

KEYWORDS

Inspection

Scanners

Data acquisition

Image processing

Signal processing

Aerospace engineering

Algorithm development

Show All Keywords

Keywords/Phrases

Search In:

Publication Years