SPIN-SYNCHRONOUS X-RAY SINOGRAPHY SYSTEM (SXS) FOR IN SITU TURBINE ENGINE FLAW DETECTION

UNCONTAINED AIRCRAFT TURBINE ENGINE FAILURES ARE DISASTEROUS. CURRENT EFFECTIVE NDE TECHNOLOGIES ARE CONSTRAINED TO UNSTRESSED, PART-LEVEL INSPECTION WHICH MAY NOT DETECT AN INCIPIENT FAILURE. USING APPROPRIATE ASPECTS OF COMPUTED-TOMOGRAPHY (CT) TECHNOLOGY, WE PROPOSE TO DEVELOP A SPIN-SYNCHRONOUS X-RAY SINOGRAPHY SYSTEM (SXS) THAT WILL BE CAPABLE OF DETECTING INCIPIENT FLAWS IN OPERATING TURBINE ENGINES ON-LIVING OR ON-STAND. WE ESTIMATE CRACKS AS NARROW AS 12U AND 5MM LOGN WILL BE DETECTED, LOCATED AND QUANTIFIED BY SXS. AN EXPERIMENT IS PROPOSED TO DEMONSTRATE THE SXS TECHNOLOGY ON A SMALL AIRCRAFT TURBINE DISK. THE TEST DATA WILL FORM THE BASIS OF A CONCEPTUAL DESIGN FOR A PROTOTYPE SXS TO BE IMPLEMENTED IN A PHASE II PROGRAM. WE ARE PLANNING TO DEMONSTRATE THIS SYSTEM IN REAL SITUATIONS AT ROLLS ROYCE. A SUCCESSFUL SXS DEMONSTRATION AT ROLLS ROYCE WILL IMMEDIATELY GAIN THE ATTENTION OF AIRLINES, AIR FORCES AND ENGINE MANUFACTURERS WORLDWIDE. THE SXS WILL PERMIT ROUTINEIN SITU TESTS AND IMMEDIATE CHECKS AFTER ENGINE OVER-STRESS HAPPENINGS AT SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED COSTS AND IMPROVED FLIGHT SAFETY.