Mcdonnell Douglas Corporation

Maxwell Laboratories, Inc.

The Boeing Company

Cold Jet, Inc.

Wayne N Schmitz

Michael C Cates

Richard R Hamm

Michael W Lewis

Stanley Allen Lawton

John Daniel Kelley

John D Hoogerwerl

An apparatus is provided for removing a coating from a substrate, comprising a nozzle having an outlet and adapted to direct a particle stream therethrough at a predetermined flow rate, a signal source for emitting a signal capable of traversing the particle stream, and a signal sensor positioned to detect the signal emitted by the signal source once the signal has passed through the particle stream. The particle stream is directed from the outlet of the nozzle toward a coating on a substrate to remove the coating from the substrate. Since the signal emitted by the signal source traverses the particle stream before being detected, the intensity of the signal detected by the signal sensor corresponds to a flow rate of the particle stream such that a subsequent change in the intensity of the signal that is detected by the signal sensor indicates a change in the flow rate of the particle stream. A method of monitoring a particle flow in an apparatus used for removing a coating from a substrate is also provided.

Coating removal system having a solid particle nozzle with a detector for detecting particle flow and associated method

A system is provided for removing material from a structure having at least one layer of the material formed on a substrate. The system includes a radiant energy source, such as a flashlamp, with an actively cooled reflector for irradiating a target area of a structure with radiant energy, preferably sufficiently intense in at least the visible and ultraviolet, to break or weaken chemical bonds in the material, and an abrasive blaster for impinging the material after irradiation with a cool particle stream, preferably including of CO.sub.2 particles, to remove the irradiated material and cool the substrate. The system may also include light sensors used in a feedback loop to control the removal process by varying the speed at which the radiant energy source is moved along the structure, the repetition rate of the source, the intensity of the source, the pulse width of the source and/or the distance between the source and the structure.

System for removing a coating from a substrate

A method is provided for removing material from a structure having at least one layer of material formed on a substrate. The method includes the steps of irradiating a target area of a structure with radiant energy sufficient to break or weaken chemical bonds in the material, and impinging the target area with a particle stream to remove the pyrolyzed material from the structure. The method may be implemented by a system comprising a housing having a window; a radiant energy source mounted in the housing for irradiating the target area of the structure with the radiant energy; and a nozzle mounted to the exterior of the housing for directing the stream of particles at the target area.

Method and system for removing a coating from a substrate using radiant

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St. Louis, MO, United States of America

Wayne N Schmitz