United Technologies Corporation

David A Raulerson

Kevin D Smith

Zhong Ouyang

Jay M Amos

Jonathan P Sullivan

Lisa J Brasche

Jesse R Boyer

William J Brindley

Brian J Schwartz

Hector M Pinero

David Norwood Potter

Jaimie Schweitzer

Jaimie Taraskevich

Jay Amos

Systems and methods are disclosed herein for repairing components. A material layer may be deposited on a surface of a component. The material layer may cover a cooling hole. A pulsed heat source may heat the component and the material layer. An infrared camera may take a series of images of the component. A location of the cooling hole may be identified based on thermal properties of the component. A removal tool may remove a portion of the material layer in order to expose the cooling hole.

Systems and methods for thermal location of cooling holes

An exemplary method of inspecting a component includes, among other things, securing an inspection probe body relative to a component, using a sensor assembly housed within the inspection probe body to induce an eddy current in a target area of the component, the target area having a target surface that is spaced from the sensor assembly, sensing a parameter of the eddy current in the component using the sensor assembly, and determining a position of the target surface of the component relative to the inspection probe body using the parameter of eddy current from the sensing.

Inspection device utilizing eddy currents

A thermal inspection system is provided for a gas turbine engine hot section component with a cooling passage. This thermal inspection system includes a fluid subsystem operable to supply a fluid into the cooling passage. The thermal inspection system also includes a thermal camera subsystem operable to monitor a fluid temperature difference of the fluid exiting the cooling passage relative to the input temperature of the fluid supplied to the cooling passage.

Thermal inspection system

A method of determining the thickness of an internal wall in a gas turbine engine component includes the steps of utilizing flash thermography to measure a complete thickness of a component between an outer wall and at least one enlarged cooling channel at a location where an outer cooling channel is positioned between the outer wall and the at least one enlarged cooling channel and where at least one member spans the cooling channel, such that the thickness is through the member which spans the outer cooling channel. An outer thickness of the component is measured from the outer wall to an outer wall of the outer cooling channel. A thickness is determined from an inner wall of the outer cooling channel to the at least one enlarged cooling channel by subtracting the measured outer thickness from the complete thickness, and also subtracting a known thickness of the outer cooling channel.

Flash thermography double wall thickness measurement

An example inspection probe device includes a sensor assembly configured to induce an eddy current in a component. A probe body houses at least a portion of the sensor assembly such that the portion of the sensor assembly is spaced from a target surface of the component when the probe body is in contact with the component. A controller is used to calculate the location of the target surface relative to the probe body using an eddy current parameter sensed by the sensor assembly.

An electric current perturbation probe includes at least one driver coil and at least one receiver. The at least one driver coil produces an omni-directional magnetic field. The at least one receiver is decoupled from the omni-directional magnetic field. In one example, the at least one driver coil includes a first driver coil that defines a first effective coil axis which is positioned orthogonally to a second effective coil axis of a second driver coil. The first driver coil is provided with a first electrical excitation signal which is phase shifted by 90 degrees from a second electrical excitation signal used to drive the second driver coil.

Omni-directional electric current perturbation probe

A method of detecting defects in structures, comprising the steps of inducing mechanical energy in a structure via the emission of a broad-band acoustic signal, and capturing over a time interval a plurality of images of the structure each of the plurality of images comprised of a plurality of pixels arranged in a plurality of rows and columns each indicative of an intensity of infrared energy emitted by a portion of the structure.

Infrared defect detection via broad-band acoustics

An eddy current probe for use in inspecting an object, includes a driver having a coil with an effective coil axis, and further includes a receiver having a coil with a coil axis oriented substantially perpendicular to the driver coil effective coil axis, the receiver having a length, and a width, the length being the dimension in the direction parallel to the scanning path, and the width having a dimension magnitude substantially greater than that of the length. A method for inspecting an object uses such an eddy current probe. An eddy current probe for use in inspecting an object, includes a driver having a coil with an effective coil axis, the driver having a length and a width, the length being the dimension in a direction substantially parallel to a scanning path, and further includes a receiver having a coil with a coil axis oriented substantially perpendicular to the driver coil effective coil axis, where the magnitude of a distance between the receiver and at least one of the edges is less than 0.125 times the width of the driver. A method for inspecting an object uses such an eddy current probe.

Method and apparatus for inspection of components

According to the present invention, a method and apparatus for electrochemically machining a workpiece is provided. The method includes the steps of: (1) providing a machine head, having an electrically conductive face; (2) providing a sensor, for sensing a distance between a first surface and a second surface of the workpiece; (3) positioning the electrically conductive face in close proximity to the first surface, leaving a substantially constant space therebetween; (4) providing a pool of fluid in contact with the second surface of the workpiece; (5) placing the sensor in communication with the pool of fluid; (6) disposing an electrolytic fluid in the space between the electrically conductive face and the first surface; (7) establishing a potential difference between the workpiece and the electrically conductive face, thereby causing charged particles of the workpiece to migrate from the first surface into the electrolytic solution at a rate; and (8) sensing the distance between the first and second surfaces through the pool of fluid, the sensor providing a real-time signal representative of the distance.

Method and apparatus for electrochemically machining a workpiece

A probe for inspecting contoured surfaces by transmitting and receiving eddy currents includes a shaft disposed in spatial relationship with the contoured surface and a pivotal probe manipulator rotatably mounted on the end of the shaft and having a critical dimension including the location of the pivot point and the width of the probe manipulator and spring means urging the probe manipulator against the contoured surface so that the probe travels along the surface and rotates substantially .+-.90 degrees relative to the shaft.

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Palm Beach Garden, FL, United States of America

David A Raulerson