Grumman Aerospace Corporation

Other

Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation

Hershey Foods Corporation

The Lubrizol Corporation

Agrigenetics, Inc.

Michael E Horn

Juan Enrique Romero Lanuza

James Douglas Sutton

Eric Jon Eikenberry

Stanley M Reich

Richard F Chance

Richard N Hadcock

Richard R Chipman

A pair of conveyors having a pair of launch conveyors and at least one pair of drive conveyors is disclosed using modular flat belts. The pair of launch conveyors has zero motion, when a vehicle is driven onto the pair of launch conveyors where the vehicle is placed in park. The pair of launch conveyors is activated to a speed in synchronous with the pair of drive conveyers. The vehicle is moved from the pair of launch conveyors to the pair of drive conveyors and proceeds along the flat modular belts.

Vehicle modular belt conveyor

Peanuts and peanut oil having improved stability and resistance to oxidative degradation as a result of improved fatty acid profile. Edible compositions containing such peanuts and oil, and a method of improving the oxidative stability of peanut-oil containing compositions by adding such oil to them.

High stability peanut oil

A commercially viable, runner-type peanut cultivar, as well as seeds and plants of the cultivar, agronomically similar to Florunner but having an improved fatty acid profile in the seed oil.

High stability peanut

A method of magneto optic imaging to locate the presence of a crack around a circular drilled bolt hole wherein the circular bolt hole, because of its sharp corners, locally disturbs the magnetic field used to form the image and obscures the presence of a crack therearound. Initially, a magneto optic image is formed of the drilled circular bolt hole under test, wherein a crack near the circular hole will perturb the circularity of the hole image by driving the magnetic field away from the circumference of the circular hole to cause it to appear out of round and eccentric. A pattern recognition analysis is then applied to the image to check the image for circular shapes, wherein each circular shape image is correlated with a circle of similar diameter to check the circularity of the image, and an eccentricity of the circular image shape is indicative of a crack around the drilled circular bolt hole. In greater detail, a computer program, in a bit by bit comparison, looks for differences in the diameter of the hole image which can be related to eccentricity, which is characteristic of a crack around the circular hole.

Method of magneto optic image feature extraction

A method of locating an acoustic emission source in a structure by reverse ray tracing. An azimuth acoustic emission sensor is utilized which has an array of individual elemental detectors which independently and sequentially respond to the passage of an acoustic stress wave. The response of each element of the array is electronically monitored, and individual responses to the acoustic stress wave are analyzed to determine the azimuth approach angle of the wave to the azimuth acoustic emission sensor. An accurate measurement of the true location of the acoustic emission signal source is then provided by reverse ray tracing by using a parallel processing arrangement having a plurality of parallel processing elements. The structure is modeled in the computer on a one to one basis, with each parallel processing element simulating and having structural data on one discrete area of the structure. The determined azimuth approach angle is an input to the parallel processing arrangement, such that a simulated wave propagation takes place in the computer model as if it were propagating in the structure, and the actual location of the acoustic emission source is determined by reverse ray tracing by taking into account the structure of the intervening path of the wave and the most probable perturbations of the wave therein. The present invention has particular applicability to aircraft structures, and the method is utilized to locate structural defects therein.

Acoustic emission source location by reverse ray tracing

A method of magneto-optic eddy current imaging for detecting defects in a ferrous metal, non-ferrous metal, or non-metallic structure test object uses a sensor, magnetic field system, optical system, a video camera and a display. The method includes canceling undesired background of a two-dimensional magneto-optically generated image of a defect in the test object by dithering the image and processing signals from the video camera in compatibility with the dithering. The image is dithered once per frame of the camera, or at a sub-multiple of the frame of the camera, and the dithering may be accomplished manually or mechanically.

Magneto-optic eddy current imaging apparatus and method including

A system and method for producing a horizontal wave motion in flags, pennants, banners and other insignia. The system comprises a flag or the like, a flagpole, an air blower, and a cabinet which houses and conceals the air blower. The air blower generates a free airstream of selectively chosen volume which is directed towards the lower region of the flag where the flag is attached to the flagpole. The combination of the force of the vertically directed airstream, the force of gravity, and the connection of the flag to the flagpole at one end imparts to the flag a resultant vector force which disposes the flag to unfurl and wave horizontally. The system and method for producing a horizontal wave motion in flags and the like provides for the unobtrusive manipulation of flags and the like such that a natural windblown appearance is created with no audible or visual cue as to the actuating device.

System and method for producing a wave motion in flags and other insignia

An acoustic transducer mounting clamp for holding an acoustic transducer against a test surface utilizing fatigue resistant adhesive so as to facilitate the use of a gel couplant at the interface of the transducer and the test surface. The clamp has a base adhesively bondable to the test surface with the fatigue resistant adhesive; and a holder formed to the base and configured to hold the acoustic transducer in contact with the test surface with gel couplant disposed at the interface of the transducer and the test surface. The fatigue resistant adhesive maintains positioning of the acoustic transducer in contact with the test surface and the gel couplant facilitates transmission of acoustic energy from the test surface to the acoustic transducer.

Acoustic transducer mounting clamp

A person's sight may be seriously damaged when high levels of coherent light impinge upon one's eyes. In order to protect against this, a visor or windshield is equipped with a first layer of photosensor segments respectively and optically aligned with corresponding light-blocking segments which take the form of LCD material or photorefractive glass. Wherever light impinges upon photosensor elements, at levels above a preselected threshold, the corresponding light-blocking segments are switched to a light-blocking mode. The end result is the blocking of harmful light in only those portions of an entire field of view where harmful levels of light radiation exist.

Laser visor having overlying photosensors

A scan head includes an eddy current probe and a thermal print head. A sheet of thermal paper is mounted to the top of a laminated part being inspected and the scan head is moved across the surface of the part. A map of defect markings will appear on the thermal paper in a 1-to-1 relationship with the actual sub-surface defects. This greatly expedites the inspection process since the mapped defects are in spatial correspondence with the actual part.

Non-destructive eddy current part testing using thermal printing

An apparatus for remote inspection of a surface such as a drilled fastener hole of the type used in the aerospace industry includes a borescope having an integral stress inducer at one end for inducing stress directly in the surface to be evaluated. A holographic image of the surface is captured by directing a coherent radiation beam off the surface and shearing and recombining the reflected beam in a shearing interferometer. Inducement of stress and capture of the holographic images is synchronized by capturing the images at a frequency which is synchronized with the frequency of the induced stress wave in the surface, thus permitting overlapping of maximally stressed and unstressed images, and thereby eliminating the blurring which previously limited the application of holographic interferometry techniques in this context. The probe is rotatable to permit scanning of the surface and preferably includes a minimal number of optical elements in order to ensure maximum reliability, minimum cost, and the most effective space utilization.

Holographic inspection system with integral stress inducer

An eddy current analyzer is employed to locate and map a substrate edge hidden from view by a cover plate. A probe has an axial bore in which rests a spring-biased marker. The analyzer scope traces locate hidden points along the edge and the marker maps these along the cover plate. A line drawn between the points locates the edge thereby enabling holes to be drilled at equal distances from the hidden edge.

Hidden metal edge mapper utilizing eddy current analyzer and spring

An automated system is disclosed for rapidly inspecting a complete aircraft and detecting cracks in the airframe. For inspecting the aircraft fuselage, the system incorporates a framework disposed over the fuselage and extending along a major portion of the length of the fuselage. Beams having suction devices and acoustic sensors are movably attached to the framework and are moved into a position adjacent to the outer surface of the fuselage when the aircraft has been located within the framework. The suction devices attach the beams to the fuselage surface along fuselage panel joints or other areas to be inspected. Several acoustic sensors, located on each beam, are connected to a device for analyzing and recording or visually displaying the signals generated by the sensors upon the detection of noise generated by the formation or propagation of cracks. In order to simulate the loads on the fuselage encountered during flight, the interior of the fuselage is pressurized via the aircraft engines or an external pressurization source. The system according to the invention may also be used to inspect the aircraft wings by placing inflatable bags beneath the wing and inflating them so as to exert upward loads on the wing. Additional inflatable bags are placed between the fuselage and a framework extending over the aircraft fuselage such that, when inflated, they exert downward loads on the upper surface of the aircraft fuselage. The fuselage is pressurized to prevent collapse. Mounting beams having acoustic sensors are attached via suction devices to the aircraft wing at joints, or other areas to be inspected.

Integrated system for aircraft crack detection

In order to locate a source of acoustic emissions, two multi-element transducers are employed. The elements of each transducer are subjected to an impinging acoustic wave at different moment in time depending upon the angle of the wave. Outputs from the elements of each transducer are compared with a look-up table to determine the angle. Then, another look-up table is used to determine the X-Y intersection of impinging wave angles from both transducers which locates the source.

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Great Neck, NY, United States of America

Michael E Horn