Automated, On-Wing Engine Airfoil Inspection

The proposed research is aimed at the development of an automated on-wing method for failure prevention in gas turbine engines. Maintenance is presently the largest controllable cost in the gas turbine industry. However, failure-prevention action is the most common corrective response, even though condition-based maintenance (CBM), which takes action prior to the occurrence of complete failure, is much more cost-effective. Most currently existing gas turbine monitoring methods are based on signals acquired during off-line tests. The proposed research will develop a monitoring system that will make it possible to replace turbine components based on their actual condition. Turbine components will be replaced only when they are worn, such as when the thermal barrier coating is severely damaged. BENEFIT: The overall objectives of the proposed work is to determine the feasibility of developing a high speed, high resolution IR camera to measure defects and temperatures in aerospace gas turbine environment, and link it to a health management system that evaluates the signal real time and compares it to expected component performance, determining the component health based on deviations. The complete High Speed, High Resolution IR Health Management System would also be equipped with an on-wing storage card to store the visual images captured during the inspection, which can later be used for post-processing to evaluate health of components and determine if maintenance is required, thus reducing turn around time for aerospace gas turbine engines.