Corrosion and Fatigue Degradation Analysis and Forecasting System

The proposed effort in Phase II is to develop, produce, and demonstrate a prototype inspection platform and complementary damage modeling tool as a complete nondestructive evaluation solution referred to as the X-Ray Corrosion Detection System (XCDS). This system will be based on the state of the art radiographic techniques including narrow-bandwidth, spectral, and phase-contrast radiography, as well as tomosynthesis. The system will additionally incorporate medical research imaging enhancement technologies applied to industrial NDE, and automated scanning to demonstrate inspection performance and cost of inspection efficiencies. In Phase I, the ability to differentiate areas with hidden corrosion was shown using a subset of the above techniques. In Phase II, these techniques will be fully developed and integrated into a prototype capable of inspecting representative components without teardown or extensive surface preparation. Corrosion defect modeling will be integrated into the system, which will provide the end user with quantified information on the size and shape of corrosion defects. BENEFIT: Benefits to the Air Force with the successful implementation of the XCDS inspection platform begin with improved aircraft safety and readiness. Significant reduction in maintenance cost is made possible through reduced teardowns to inspect for corrosion and the ability to schedule corrective maintenance based on actual condition. Commercial applications exist anywhere hidden corrosion is a problem. The same benefits can be achieved in commercial aviation as military, and other industries that will immediately benefit include the automotive industry, the petroleum extraction and processing industries, and marine vessels.