United Technologies Corporation

Raytheon Technologies Corporation

Thompson, R. Bruce

Kevin D Smith

David A Raulerson

Zhong Ouyang

Jeffrey A Umbach

Jonathan P Sullivan

Lisa J Brasche

Jesse R Boyer

Alexander Staroselsky

Thomas J Martin

William J Brindley

Hector M Pinero

R Bruce Thompson

Carroll V Sidwell

Thomas J Posluszny

David Norwood Potter

Jaimie Taraskevich

Jay M Amos

Jaimie Schweitzer

Wenji Peng

Paul W Schlie

Jay Amos

David Raulerson

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

Apparatus and associated methods relate to predicting precursor to coating spallation. Heat is provided to a first surface of a member. A time sequence of thermal images is captured of the first surface and/or a second surface of the member. Each of the images includes a two-dimensional array of image data. Each of the image data of the two-dimensional array of image data corresponds to an xy-coordinate pair. A two-dimensional array of thermal diffusivities is calculated based on the captured time sequence of thermal images. Each of the thermal diffusivities of the two-dimensional array of thermal diffusivities corresponds to the xy-coordinate pair. Each of the calculated thermal diffusivities of the two dimensional array of thermal diffusivities are compared with a predetermined threshold. If the calculated thermal diffusivity is greater than the predetermined threshold, then precursor to coating spallation of the thermal barrier coating at the corresponding xy-coordinate pair is predicted.

Method and system for detecting precursor to coating spallation

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

A computer-implemented method for evaluating echo signals obtained from a phased array experiment on a billet is disclosed. The computer-implemented method may comprise collecting the echo signals from a pulser/receiver unit, correlating the echo signals with a position on a longitudinal axis and a circumferential angle of the billet, computing an amplitude for each of the echo signals, displaying the amplitudes as indications in a c-scan data plot at a computer display unit, and determining the signal-to-noise ratios of indications located in a region-of-interest box relative to noise in surrounding boxes in the c-scan data plot. The computer-implemented method may further comprise classifying each indication as rejectable, reportable, or insignificant based on its amplitude and signal-to-noise ratio. The computer-implemented method may find applications in quality control evaluations in the aircraft industry.

Phased array billet data evaluation software

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.

A method includes the steps of producing a first digital x-ray image of a part utilizing a full energy spectrum, producing a second digital x-ray image of the part with a hardened beam correlating to a higher energy portion of the full energy spectrum, subtracting the second x-ray image from the first x-ray image, and using a remainder of the subtracting step to locate the matter.

Method of detecting material in a part

A method of identifying a flaw in a part is provided that includes vibrating a part to induce heat. The heat originates in any flaws in the part. A thermal image is obtained using, for example, an infrared camera. A mathematical representation of the thermophysics, such as the heat conduction or thermal energy equations using the boundary element method or finite element method is used to identify a source and an intensity of the heat identified with the thermal image. Using the source and intensity of the heat, flaw characteristics for the part can be determined. The method is employed using an inspection system that includes a vibration device for vibrating the part. An imaging device, such as an infrared camera, measures temperature on the surface of the part. An assumption is made or additional measurements are taken to obtain values for surface flux or surface heat transfer coefficients. A processor communicates with the imaging device for receiving the surface temperature. The processor includes computer memory having part characteristics and mathematical equations. The processor uses the measured surface temperature, assumed or measured heat flux or heat transfer coefficients, part characteristics and mathematical equations to determine the flaw characteristics in the part.

Inverse thermal acoustic imaging part inspection

An inspection apparatus includes a light source positioned to direct light to a first surface of a workpiece. An infrared detector is positioned to receive radiation from the first surface. A data acquisition and processing computer is coupled to the light source and the infrared detector. The computer triggers the light source to emit the light a number of instances. The computer acquires thermal data from the infrared detector for a number of times after each of the instances. The computer is configured to process the data using a theoretical solution to analyze the thermal data based upon an average of the thermal data for a number of each of corresponding ones of the times from different ones of the instances.

Thermal imaging method and apparatus

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

Systems and methods for determining the velocity of ultrasonic surface skimming longitudinal waves on various materials are described herein. In embodiments, a surface skimming longitudinal wave is generated at a first location on a material, at least a portion of that wave is detected at a second location on the material, the time-of-flight of that wave between the first and second locations is determined, and then the velocity of that wave is determined. One or more crystallographic orientations of the material may then be determined based upon that velocity.

Systems and methods for determining the velocity of ultrasonic surface skimming longitudinal waves on various materials

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.

Growing community of inventors

Glastonbury, CT, United States of America

Kevin D Smith