Deformation Determination of Aircraft Parts by Photogrammetry

This paper investigates the precision and capability of low cost off-line industrial photogrammetry for determination of deformations in aircraft parts. The study concentrates on deformation analysis of an airplane propeller through standard photogrammetric procedures. In this regard, around 100 targets were fixed on the blades of the propeller and imaged from several stations. The left and right models of the blades were developed using the measured points. The two models were then compared with each other to reveal any deformations in the propeller. The results indicated a maximum of 2.5 mm deformation in the blades. The investigations carried out in this research, suggest that with an ordinary non-metric digital camera, low cost targets and scale bars, an accuracy of around 1:20,000 (up to 50μm in object measurements) can be achieved. In addition, compared to current quality control techniques used in aviation, photogrammetry offers more flexibility, convenience, and a reasonable accuracy suitable for different measurement applications.