A Real Time, High Resolution, Ultrasound Camera For Imaging Composite Motor Cases

"A need exists for improved inspection of composite motor case damage. The systems needed must be field deployable, cost effective and support rapid scans of large surface area to determine damage to the composite case. The system must quantify thedamage, determining the depths and locations of the delaminations and possible fiber breakage. The inspection system must have the sensitivity and resolution to determine which composite lamina are separated and the areal extent of each separation.Physically, the equipment must be small, low power and of robust design for hand held inspection in the field. The equipment must be to easy operate and results must be easy to interpret. Imperium proposes a patented, real-time, ultrasound C-scan imaging system to meet these requirements. The solution proposed by Imperium is based on a proprietary 2-D monolithic integrated array. The device produces high quality images with standard videopresentation and requires no special training to interpret. An inspector could simply place a handheld probe up to a composite component and get immediate imagery of subsurface faults. The proposed solution is a cost effective, high resolution, real-time,portable, ruggedized camera which will provide positive identification of damage in composite motor cases. Imperium is focused on the development of next-generation ultrasound imaging systems. In a commercial manufacturing setting, the proposed inspection sys