RAPID FIELD INSPECTION CAPABILITY FOR COMPOSITE AIRCRAFT

THE DEVELOPMENT AND ADOPTION OF HONEYCOMB STRUCTURES AND OTHER ADVANCED COMPOSITE AIRCRAFT MATERIALS REQUIRE NEW MODES OF INSPECTION, BOTH DURING PRODUCTION AND FOLLOWING DEPLOYMENT, THAT ARE FASTER, MORE DEFINITIVE, LESS COSTLY AND EASIER TO USE THAN CONVENTIONAL FILM RADIOGRAPHY. ONE PROMISING NEW TECHNIQUE IS LAMINOGRAPHY. THIS RADIOGRAPHIC IMAGE PROCESSING MODALITY ALLOWS INSPECTION OF PLANES OR SURFACES INTERIOR TO THE OBJECT OF INTEREST. CURRENTLY, LAMINOGRAPHY IS PERFORMED ON CT/DIGITAL RADIOGRAPHY INSTRUMENTS AND ACHIEVES OBJECT INSPECTION BY MEASURING A SEQUENCE OF RADIOGRAPHIC VIEWS AND POST-PROCESSING THEM INTO IMAGES OF THE PLANES OR CONTOUR SURFACES OF INTEREST. THE TECHNIQUE COULD BE MADE MORE PORTABLE, FASTER, AND LESS COSTLY BY IMPLEMENTING THIS NEW TECHNOLOGY USING REAL-TIME IMAGE PROCESSING EQUIPMENT. THE DETECTION AND VIDEO PROCESSING TECHNIQUES USED IN DIGITAL AND HYBRID FLUOROGRAPHY HOLD OUT THE PROMISE OF REAL-TIME LAMINOGRAPHIC INSPECTIONS FOR AIRCRAFT STRUCTURES WHILE SIMULTANEOUSLY ACHIEVING IMPROVED ANOMALLY DETECTION RELATIVE TO CONVENTIONAL FILM RADIOGRAPHY.