Ultrasonic NDT is an important tool for detecting subsurface foreign object damage (FOD), barely visible impact damage (BVID), and cracks near fasteners. (Photo courtesy of Imperium Inc.)
associated with grounding aircraft to airlines or mission capability, low occurrence rates of incidents make it impractical to have trained personnel staffing many sites where inspections will be needed.” To remedy this, portable and easy-to-use UT units are becoming
dedicated to ultrasonic methods, and must pass theoretical and practical examinations every five years. The system of certification is acknowledged worldwide through the application of EN4179/NAS410. “One of the greatest challenges in industry is the lack of trained technicians to interpret complex inspection systems,” says Lasser. There is a need for a fast and simple non-destructive inspection (NDI) technique which can be quickly setup and utilized without extensive training. Often systems remain out of service while a trained technician is located to perform a given inspection. BVID can have catastrophic results if not found before flight. “As instances on the tarmac or in flight are emergent and not part of scheduled maintenance, inspection may be called for at locations without traditional NDE equipment and the trained personnel to perform the required inspections. With worldwide operations of aircraft with advanced structures, despite high costs
more available providing fast and thorough inspections with minimal operator training. “Imperium’s AcoustoCam is a cost-effective portable, solution to the problem of a lack of trained NDI technicians in the field,” Lasser says. AcoustoCam can be used on most composite and metal aircraft components provided they are accessible to the camera head. Custom camera head attachments can be used for parts with small radii, curves and other nontypical features. The new RotoArray from the Inspection Technologies business of GE Measurement & Control is a manually operated, phased array, ultrasonic inspection system allowing rapid scanning of composite surfaces and structures. It can be connected to any suitable, phased array flaw detection instrument to provided results in C-scan and B-scan format. To speed training and ensure correct operation, it has a digital manual, which carefully and simply explains the system’s operation and maintenance using tailored video tutorials. These new products and an industry’s push for training are ensuring that UT testing, used since the 1950s, will continue to be one of the primary historical NDT tools to sustain the airline industry’s outstanding safety record. AM
Aviation Maintenance |
avm-mag.com | February / March 2013 35
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84