Real-Time Maintenance Assessment Device and Post Data Analysis of Advanced Aircraft Coating and Composite Surface Integrity

A program to develop a real-time maintenance assessment device and post data analysis capability for advanced aircraft coating and composite surface integrity is proposed. The proposed system builds upon Surface Optics’ work both in systems using uncooled microbolometer focal plane arrays and infrared reflectometers, especially the SOC-410 hand-held emissometer developed for the Navy; the end result of the development is a hand-held, microbolometer-based imaging emissometer capable of quantifying surface emissivity, temperature, and total radiance throughout an image. Measurements will be accurate within 10% and completed in no more than one to two minutes. During the Phase I effort, a preliminary design for the system will be developed. The imaging module will use a microbolometer FPA available from DRS, providing 640x480 resolution. Implementation of a multi-band capability using motorized filters will also be developed and bread-boarded using in-house microbolometer imagers. The proposed effort represents an extension of more than a decade experience in squeezing maximum performance out of microbolometer arrays, fifteen years experience in design of hyperspectral and multi-band imaging systems, and thirty years experience in designing reflectometers. Combined with DRS’s experience in manufacture of high-performance microbolometer arrays, this effort will provide a new infrared imaging emissometer for assessing coatings and composite surface integrity.BENEFITS: By providing the ability to assess surface emissivity, temperature, and radiance, the proposed system will provide the military the means to quickly assess surface coating performance and composite surface integrity. Beyond the military applications, this imaging emissometer will also provide a low-cost means to perform non-destructive inspection of materials, e.g., detection of corrosion or contaminants on surfaces.