COMPUTED TOMOGRAPH: SENSOR FOR INTELLIGENT CARBON-CARBON PROCESSING

CARBON-CARBON COMPOSITES ARE INCREASINGLY BEING EMPLOYED IN ADVANCED DOD SYSTEMS. THE LENGTH AND COMPLEXITY OF THE MANUFACTURING PROCESS OF THESE COMPONENTS TEND TO MAKE THE PARTS COSTLY AND THE YIELDS LESS THAN OPTIMAL. AN ONGOING DARPA PROGRAM AIMS AT DEVELOPIG AN INTELLIGENT CONTROL SYSTEM WHICH INTEGRATES PROCESS MODELING, OPERATOR KNOWLEDGE, AND IN-PROCESS SENSORS TO IMPROVE THE RELIABILITY, DURATION, AND MATERIAL PROPERTY CONTROL OF THE CARBON-CARBON MANUFACTURING PROCESS. AS AN ADJUNCT, THE PROPOSED PROGRAM WILL EVALUATE X-RAY COMPUTER TOMOGRAPHY AS A MEMBER OF AN INTEGRATED TEAM OF INPROCESS SENSORS PROVIDING LOCAL MEASUREMENT OF MATERIAL PROPERTIES. COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY'S UNIQUE ABILITY TO LOCALLY DETERMINE DIMENSIONAL,DENSITY, AND CHEMICAL COMPOSITIONAL MATERIAL PARAMETERS WILL BE ADAPTED TO THE CARBON-CARBON PROCESS ENVIRONMENT AND THE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE REQUIREMENTS OF THE INTELLIGENT PROCESSING STRATEGY OUTLINED BY THE ONGOING DARPA PROGRAM.