General Electric Company

The Coca-cola Company

Robert M Roney

Richard Michael Hatley

Paul C Bagley

Kenneth John Hatley

Sean Michael McDonnell

John Roger McCarvill

Peter John McGrath

Dean Thomas Roney

Richard McConnell

An inspection head for an air gap inspection device. The inspection head may include a pair of expandable shoes, an inspection device attached to the pair of shoes, and a transducer assembly attached to one of the pair of shoes.

Junior ultrasonic miniature air gap inspection crawler

A borescope is received within a housing. The borescope includes a flexible end portion carrying the video head and a housing includes a flexible end portion comprised of ball-socket segments and a tip for following the movement of the flexible end portion of the borescope. Cooling air is provided in an annular passage between the borescope and housing for flow about the borescope to maintain the video head temperature below its temperature limitation. Two cables maintain the ball-socket segments and tip in contact with a transition piece and with one another to enable the flexible borescope end portion to follow the movement of the directionally controlled video head.

Flexible borescope assembly for inspecting internal turbine components at elevated temperatures

A method and apparatus for the inspection of rotary machine components is provided. A positioning fixture is clamped to the component to be inspected, and supports a transceiver that is used during the inspection. The positioning fixture can be navigated through and between rotary machine components to the desired location to be inspected. In one example, an ultrasonic transceiver can be used to perform the inspection. The apparatus can be used to perform in-situ inspections.

Method and apparatus for in-situ inspection of rotary machine components

A probe is pulled along a cooling slot of a turbine wheel to detect defects along the slot surfaces. The cooling slot extends radially inwardly of the bases of both the dovetails and dovetail slots. A housing assembly is releasably coupled to the rim of the turbine wheel and a motor draws the probe along the cooling slot at constant speed. A guide and brushes on the probe serve to bias the probe radially outwardly against the surfaces to be inspected as the probe is drawn along the cooling slot.

Apparatus and methods for inspecting cooling slot defects in turbine rotor wheels

An air gap inspection device. The air gap inspection device may include a substantially rigid rail, a cart positioned on the rail, a drive system for maneuvering the cart along the rail, and an inspection head positioned on the cart.

Micro miniature air gap inspection crawler

The cleaning system includes a plurality of generally dovetail-shaped slot blocks having a slot along a radial inner side, an abrasive media or belt and a backing tube. Upon insertion of the blocks into the dovetail slots of a rotor wheel and aligning the block slots with the cooling slot, the abrasive media and backing tube are inserted in the cooling slot tunnel. The abrasive media may extend through end feeder blocks. With the backing tube applying pressure radially outwardly against the abrasive media, back and forth motion applied manually from outboard of the rim of the rotor cleans the surfaces of the cooling slot without disassembly of the rotor.

Apparatus and methods for cleaning cooling slot surfaces on a rotor wheel of a gas turbine

An air gap inspection device. The air gap inspection device may include a mast and an inspection head attached to the mast. The mast may be in the form of a collapsible tube.

Tape fed miniature air gap inspection crawler

A miniature air gap inspection crawler. The miniature air gap inspection crawler may include a base, a linear drive mechanism and a circumferential drive mechanism such that either the linear drive mechanism or the circumferential drive mechanism may be employed, and an inspection module connected to the base.

Growing community of inventors

Schoharie, NY, United States of America

Robert M Roney