ENSIP Inspection of Engine Components Using the MOI and/or Holographic Interferometry

Engine Structural Intergrity Program (ENSIP) guidelines specify that many aircraft engine components, which have vastly different geometries from each other, must be inspected rapidly and accurately, with flaw detection requirements ranging from 0.01 to 0.07 inches. Present inspection techniques, Fluoro penetrant (FPI) and Eddy Current (EC), require that components be cleaned, a labor intensive and environmentally undesirable task. Physical Research, INc. (PRi) proposes to develop an automated inspection system based upon proven and emerging technologies developed by PRi that have provided excellent alternatives to present inspection needs. The candidate technologies for the new inspection system are Mangeto-Optic/Eddy Current Imaging and Optical methods, chiefly,laser holography and phase stepping fringe projection. We will establish the theoretical and practical performance boundaries for each of the candidate technologies through a serious of laboratory and field tests to demontrate the feasibility of developing an instrument that satisfied ENSIP requirements. We will combine these existing technologies with our Phase I results to build an innovative automated inspection system that will be usable in depot-level ENSIP inspecitons and that can replace many of the present EC and FPI inspections and signficantly reduce reliance on the use of hazardous chemicals.