Correction of B-Scan Distortion for OptimumUltrasonic Imaging of Back Walls with ComplexGeometries

Description

In the interest of safety, it is necessary to inspect the integrity of critical components of aircrafts during and after manufacturing. One of the most effective non-destructive testing methods is based on ultrasonic waves transmitted in the material using appropriate transducers. The aerospace industry is interested in replacing traditional alloys with composites, like Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastics (CFRP), which present important advantages. However, aerospace components often have complex shapes (e.g. tight angles and curves). Reinforcement stringers, co-cured with the main skin of wing covers, are not easy to inspect. Inspecting the stringer root feet and radii is one of the current challenges, causing severe downtimes in the aerospace manufacturing processes
The aim of this work is to optimize the performance of emerging automated robot systems, making them capable of achieving full or near-full inspection coverage of composite components. The research has focused on the investigation of ultrasonic beam propagation, with the objective of enabling the inspection of the component main skin, the stringer feet and radii through ultrasonic pulse-echo scanning carried out from the component Outer Mold Line side.
Before approaching composite components, ultrasonic energy propagation has been simulated for isotropic materials through CIVA and bespoke data processing and visualization algorithms have been developed. Such algorithms allow optimum correction of distorted B-scans for accurate visualization and sizing of defects in samples with complex back walls.

Period	15 Oct 2019
Held at	Confidence in Composites
Event type	Conference
Location	Oxford, United Kingdom