G01N2291/2694

SURFACE ACOUSTIC WAVE SENSORS FOR AIR DATA PROBES
20220196600 · 2022-06-23 ·

An air data system includes an air data probe and a surface acoustic wave (SAW) sensor attached to the air data probe for detecting particulate accumulation. The air data probe includes a probe head, a strut connected to the head, and a mounting plate connected to the strut. The probe head has an inlet, an interior surface extending from the inlet, and an exterior surface extending from the inlet.

NON-DESTRUCTIVE TEST SYSTEMS WITH INFRARED THERMOGRAPHY ASSEMBLIES AND ULTRASONIC TEST ASSEMBLIES, AND ASSOCIATED METHODS

Non-destructive test systems and associated methods. A non-destructive test system includes an infrared thermography assembly and an ultrasonic test assembly for testing a test piece. The infrared thermography assembly may include one or more thermography sensor modules and a thermography test controller. The ultrasonic test assembly may include one or more ultrasonic sensor subassemblies with respective excitation modules and respective detector modules and an ultrasonic test controller. Each excitation module may be configured to produce a respective ultrasonic beam within the test piece, and each detector module may be configured to detect a respective reflected vibration of the test piece. In some examples, a method of performing a non-destructive test on a test piece includes testing an infrared test region of the test piece with an infrared thermography assembly and testing an ultrasonic test region of the test piece with an ultrasonic test assembly.

Methods and Devices of Detecting Frictional Interference of a Mechanical Component Within a Vehicle
20220163490 · 2022-05-26 ·

Methods and devices for detecting frictional interference of one or more mechanical components within a vehicle that are driven by an electric motor. The testing includes: determining that an amount of current drawn by the electric motor while driving the one or more mechanical components is above a predetermined threshold; detecting vibrations caused by the one or more mechanical components while being driven by the electric motor; analyzing the vibrations by a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT); and based on an output from the FFT, determining the frictional interference of the one or more mechanical components.

Structural health monitoring for an industrial structure

Methods and systems for analyzing an industrial structure are provided. With a plurality of sensors (e.g. FBGs and/or piezoelectric transducers and/or electromagnetic acoustic transducers) deployed in, on or in proximity to the structure, sensors are interrogated and a function representative of the impulse response of the structure is determined by passive inverse filter. Subsequently, a map of the propagation of the elastic waves through the structure is determined via various modalities, and in particular by tomography (of bulk or guided waves, by analysis of time of flight or of the complete signal). Embodiments especially relate to the management of the number and position of the sensors, to the use of artificial noise sources, and to automatically controlling the sensors and/or noise sources to monitor the health of the structure, or even to view the dynamic behavior of the structure.

System, method, and apparatus for acoustic inspection of a surface

A system includes an inspection robot comprising a plurality of sensor sleds; a plurality of ultra-sonic (UT) sensors; a couplant chamber mounted to each of the plurality of sleds, each couplant chamber comprising: a cone, the cone comprising a cone tip portion at an inspection surface end of the cone; a sensor mounting end opposite the cone tip portion; a couplant entry fluidly coupled to the cone at a position between the cone tip portion and the sensor mounting end; and wherein each of the UT sensors is mounted to the sensor mounting end of one of the couplant chambers.

Ultrasonic testing device and testing method

An ultrasonic testing device performs flaw detection on a stringer having an inner circumferential surface of a substantially rectangular shape closed in a transverse section. The ultrasonic testing device includes: a shoe configured to be in contact with a corner of the inner circumferential surface of the stringer; an ultrasonic array configured to be fixed to the shoe to define, together with the shoe and the corner a medium space in which a contact medium used for propagating an ultrasonic wave is enclosed, and configured to transmit an ultrasonic wave to the corner and receive a reflected ultrasonic wave; and a forcing unit configured to be in contact with a corner and push the shoe against the corner.

Acoustic awareness platform

An advanced acoustic awareness platform configured to classify environmental sounds. The advanced acoustic awareness platform comprises an audio signal acquisition sensor array and one or more processors programmed to augment the audio signal, extract features for the audio signal, visualize, and classify the signal using one or more labels. In at least one embodiment, the signal is classified based on transfer learning associated with a pretrained machine learning model.

Assembly Line Fabrication and Assembly of Aircraft Wings

Systems and methods are provided for inspecting a wing panel. Some methods include advancing a wing panel through a Non-Destructive Inspection (NDI) station, and inspecting the wing panel with inspection heads at the NDI station. The wing panel may be suspended beneath a strongback during inspection and/or advancement, such as by using vacuum couplers and/or adjustable-length pogos of the strongback, and suspending may include enforcing a contour to the wing panel using the vacuum couplers and/or pogos. Other methods include receiving a wing panel at an NDI station and inspecting a portion thereof during movement through the NDI station. Some systems include a track, a strongback to suspend a wing panel beneath it and to advance along the track, and an NDI station disposed at the track to inspect the wing panel while suspended.

Non-Destructive Inspection Station for Aircraft Fuselage Sections Fabricated in an Assembly Line

Systems and methods are provided for inspecting aircraft fuselages. Non-Destructive Inspection (NDI) stations inspect sections of a fuselage via pulsed-line assembly techniques. After each pulse, a section of fuselage is moved by less than its length, and one or more NDI stations disposed at different portions of the section to inspect the section of fuselage for out-of-tolerance conditions. A method for inspecting a structure for inconsistencies which includes advancing a structure along a track in a process direction through a Non-Destructive Inspection (NDI) station, indexing the structure to the NDI station and inspecting the structure with the NDI station.

ULTRASONIC TESTER

An ultrasonic tester includes an ultrasonic sensor that applies ultrasound to a test object; a casing that holds the ultrasonic sensor immersed in a contact medium that allows the ultrasound to propagate therethrough, the casing including a test object-facing opening Further, there is circuitry configured to, when the test object-facing opening of the casing is passing an opening of the test object in a test direction of the test object, control a moving speed of the casing such that a region of contact between the test object and the contact medium entering the opening of the test object is kept within the opening of the test object.