Field Level Transparency Inspection System

Aircraft transparency systems incorporate conductive layers which require inspection during manufacture and throughout the life of the aircraft to ensure proper electrical performance is achieved and maintained. Transparencies on fielded aircraft are subject to damage as a result of bird strikes, thermal stresses, weather erosion, static discharge, and even during routine maintenance activities (e.g. accidental contact with tools and foreign objects). When transparency damage compromises the conductive layers, the damage must be characterized electrically to assess the impact to electrical performance and to determine the proper course of repair. Compass Technology Group proposes to develop portable microwave nondestructive evaluation (NDE) tools in support of the Air Force’s requirement for field measurement of transparent conductive canopies. The specific objective of this Phase I effort is two-fold: i) to develop and test a new measurement probe concept, and ii) to compare the new probe concept to previous portable measurement methods previously developed by CTG. The proposed work will be done through experimental measurements of representative materials as well as through modeling and analysis.