Fast Non-Contact Infrared Reflectometer for Fiber Coating Evaluation

Ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) have been developed to introduce ceramics in structural parts used in severe environments, such as rocket and jet engines, gas turbines for power plants, heat shields for space vehicles, fusion reactor first wall, aircraft brakes, heat treatment furnaces, etc. The CMCs for jet engines can potentially improve the performance of Joint Strike Fighters and other military engines. The use of CMC will increase the operation temperature of engines and minimize the demand on cooling. The CMCs can be reinforced through coating on reinforcement fibers to increase their strength. The quality production of CMCs on reinforcement fibers requires quality control evaluation of the coatings frequently, accurately, and in larger areas that are not attainable by existing quality evaluation techniques such as scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and auger analysis. New Span Opto-Technology Inc. proposes herein non-contact optical reflectometer for fast nondestructive evaluation of the CMC coatings. The evaluation is also suitable for larger area studies and for non-planar substrates. Multilayer evaluation may also be possible. Phase I research will develop a bench top optical reflectometer system for feasibility demonstration of CMC coating evaluation. Phase II will develop a non-contact optical reflectometer prototype.