Automation for Nondestructive Inspection of Aircraft
نویسنده
چکیده
We discuss the motivation and an architectural framework for using small mobile robots as automated aids to operators of nondestructive inspection (NDI) equipment. We review the need for aircraft skin inspection, and identify the constraints in commercial airlines operations that make small mobile robots the most attractive alternative for automated aids for NDI procedures. We describe the design and performance of the robot (ANDI) that we designed, built, and are testing for deployment of eddy current probes in prescribed commercial aircraft inspections. We discuss recent work aimed at also providing robotic aids for visual inspection.
منابع مشابه
Nondestructive Inspection Research of Composite Materials Used On the Commercial Fleet: Infrared Imaging for Defect Detection in Aircraft Structures Using Chaotic and Broadband Sound Excitation
متن کامل
Vision algorithms for guiding the Automated NonDestructive Inspector of aging aircraft skins
Under the FAA Aging Aircraft Research Program we are developing robots to deploy conventional and, later, new-concept NDI sensors for commercial aircraft skin inspection. Our prototype robot, the Automated NonDestructive Inspector (ANDI), holds to the aircraft skin with vacuum assisted suction cups, scans an eddy current sensor, and translates across the aircraft skin via linear actuators. Colo...
متن کاملAssessment and Monitoring for Railway Tracks Reliability and Safety using Nondestructive Testing Measurement Systems
The deterioration of railway tracks raises great concerns about the integrity of assessments and evaluations of railway tracks currently in service. Integrated inspection strategies coupled with innovations in inspection technology can lead to significant improvements in operational cost efficiency and reliability without the requirement of a fundamental shift in the existing understanding o...
متن کاملNondestructive Assessment of Aerospace Components by Means of Pulsed Thermography
Infrared (IR) thermography is a nondestructive, non-contact and non-intrusive technique that allows the fast inspection of large and complex structures with limited accessibility. Pulsed thermography is particularly interesting for the inspection of aerospace materials such as composites given that, after submitting the specimen surface to a thermal front, the most common types of subsurface di...
متن کاملAnalysis of Commercial Aeronautics Applications of Laser Ultrasonics for Composite Manufacturing
Laser-based ultrasonic techniques have been investigated for the nondestructive testing of advanced aeronautic composite structures for more than twenty years. Several organizations have evaluated the technology at various levels during this period. In one case, EADS (formerly Aerospatiale) acquired, jointly with Dassault Aviation, a laser ultrasonic system from a now defunct provider. In anoth...
متن کامل