largest offering, a combined 225/450kV microfocus X-ray and computed tomography system. Te system’s powerful source, walk-in bay, and panel shiſt capability allow Chesapeake Test- ing the versatility to inspect larger components typical cabinet CT systems are unable to fully accommodate. Te large scale of the system gives Chesapeake Testing the capability to image large objects up to 37" (939.8 mm) in diameter.
“Industry has provided more than $20 million in giſt sup-
port to the Center in the three decades since we started the consortium, and we have used these funds to establish state- of-the-art facilities in our Composites Manufacturing Science Laboratory and our Application and Technology Transfer Laboratory as well as to support the work of our faculty, staff, and students.”
“The goal has always been to be a one-stop shop for all our customers’ testing requirements.”
With a microfocus source, a standard detector along with
geometric magnification can be used to gain a higher-resolu- tion image. With a proprietary curved detector that minimizes X-ray scatter, Chesapeake Testing’s system is believed to be the first in North America that deals with large segments and benchmark accuracy. Additionally, where past X-ray inspection and analy-
sis efforts were limited to using two-dimensional scans, Chesapeake Testing’s computed tomography system creates thousands of digital images from a single sample. Each two-dimensional pixel in each image is reconstructed by computer algorithms into 3D volumes. Te result is a 3D volumetric map of the object, where each voxel is a 3D cube with a discrete location (x,y,z) and a density (ρ). Not only is the external surface information known, such as with a 3D point cloud from laser scanning, but internal surfaces and additional information about what is in-between the surfaces from the fourth dimension (density) is provided. Furthermore, “slices” produced by the process and ac- companying soſtware can yield much information without destroying the part. Image intensity, then, becomes the basis for measuring the
sample. In CT, what’s being measured is the linear attenua- tion of the X-rays, or how much one unit of length of mate- rial reduces X-ray intensity. Chesapeake Testing’s scanner is powerful enough to discern individual fibers in composite materials, down to the level of a few microns. Manufacturing engineers who have worked with Chesapeake on the scan- ner “never imagined in a million years they’d see this level of detail,” Peitsch says.
University Research Ties Te University of Delaware’s Center for Composite Materi-
als (CCM) was established in 1974, and just four years later formed an industry consortium, Application of Composite Materials to Industrial Products. “Since then, we have col- laborated with some 210 companies representing materials suppliers and end users in the automotive, aerospace, defense and durable goods industries,” says Professor Jack Gillespie, CCM director.
CCM runs industrial and government programs in parallel
to each other, but over the years they have developed a very productive synergy and are highly complementary. CCM has been an National Science Foundation and Department of Defense Center of Excellence for 25 years, and has routinely forged university-industry-government partnerships for the benefit of consortium members. “As we carry out fundamental research for our public-sector sponsors, we become involved with their private-sector contractors, enabling us to work together to transition technology into valuable applications,” Gillespie says. Te range of said applications is broadening, from compos-
ite plates for tanks and armored vehicles to the next genera- tion of spacesuits for NASA. “With 200 researchers, we create our own materials and processing routes to turn polymers and fibers into composite materials with varying microstructures,” Gillespie explains. Nondestructive testing through CT scan- ning is the evolutionary next step in composites inspection methods, which has included very-high-frequency ultrasonics and flash-infrared thermography. “X-ray CT scanning and 3D results allow detection of defects before any catastrophic delamination or other failure occurs.” Custom composite materials aren’t deterministic, he adds.
Processing of complex geometries can affect material perfor- mance. “Visualizing and quantifying microstructures over time will lead to higher quality, more efficiently designed structures and ultimately better performing, more affordable products. And Chesapeake Testing’s outstanding personnel and performance combines their uniqueness with ours – they’re truly an extended part of our team.” Extended also applies to the range of potential inspection
applications for CT scanning. “I’ve scanned and analyzed large aluminum castings three feet wide as well as grains of gun- powder less than a few millimeters in diameter on the same system,” Peitsch adds. “We’re rapidly growing our expertise and just beginning to scratch the surface of what this new CT capability can do for our customers.”
Edited by Yearbook Editor James D. Sawyer from material supplied by Nikon Metrology.
Motorized Vehicle Manufacturing 87
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