System and method for nondestructive evaluation of a test object

• US 10,191,014 B2
• Filed: 08/23/2016
• Issued: 01/29/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 08/23/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Original Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Inventors: Hull, John R., Georgeson, Gary E., Safai, Morteza, Fetzer, Barry A., Brady, Steven K., Thompson, Jeffrey G.
• Primary Examiner(s): Kwok, Helen C
• Application Number:
  US15/244,698
• Publication Number:
  US 20180059065A1
• Time in Patent Office: 889 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 2005/0077 Imaging
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 5/10 using electric radiation detectors
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2291/0231 Composite or layered materials
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2291/0234 Metals, e.g. steel
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2291/0423 Surface waves, e.g. Rayleigh waves, Love waves
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2291/101 one transducer
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2291/2623 Rails; Railroads
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2291/2694 Wings or other aircraft parts
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2291/2696 Wheels, Gears, Bearings
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 25/72 Investigating presence of flaws
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 29/041 on the surface of the material, e.g. using Lamb, Rayleigh or shear waves
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 29/048 Marking the faulty objects
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 29/0618 synchronised with scanning, e.g. in real-time
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 29/2412 using the magnetostrictive properties of the material to be examined, e.g. electromagnetic acoustic transducers [EMAT]; investigating the presence of flaws using eddy currents G01N27/90, magnetostrictive transducers B06B1/08, measuring magnetostrictive properties G01R33/18
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 29/275 by moving both the sensor and the material
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/13 Receivers

Abstract

A system for nondestructive evaluation of a test object includes a platform, an electromagnetic acoustic transducer (EMAT) to create acoustic vibrations that travel along the test object; an infrared detector positioned to record thermal images of a plurality of test areas on the test object to detect flaws in the test object as the platform and the test object move relative to each other; and a control connected to actuate the EMAT and the infrared detector, synchronize the creation of vibrations with the recording of thermal images, receive a signal from the infrared detector indicative of the thermal image of the surface of the test object, and record locations of the flaws appearing on the thermal images of the test areas, all as the platform and the test object move relative to each other.

Claims

1. A system for nondestructive evaluation of a test object, the system comprising:

a platform;

an electromagnetic acoustic transducer (EMAT) mounted on the platform and positioned to generate a magnetic field in the test object to create acoustic vibrations that travel along a surface of the test object;

an infrared detector mounted on the platform and positioned to record thermal images of a plurality of test areas on the surface of the test object to detect flaws in the surface of the test object within the plurality of test areas as at least one of the platform and the test object move relative to each other;

a velocity interferometer system for any reflector (VISAR) mounted on the platform and oriented to detect a presence of one of the vibrations in the test object caused by the EMAT in one of the plurality of test areas aligned with the infrared detector; and

a controller connected to the EMAT, the VISAR, and the infrared detector, wherein the controller actuates the EMAT to create the vibrations in the test object the VISCAR, and the infrared detector, wherein the connection synchronizes the creation of the vibrations by the EMAT with the recording of the thermal images of the plurality of test areas by the infrared detector, wherein the controller receives signals from the VISAR indicating the presence of the vibrations in the one of the plurality of test areas aligned with the infrared detector, and the infrared detector is triggered to record each of the thermal images of the one of the plurality of test areas aligned with the infrared detector in response to the VISCAR detecting the one of the vibrations in the one of the plurality of test areas, wherein the controller receives a signal from the infrared detector indicative of the thermal images of the surface of the test object, and the controller records locations of the flaws appearing on the thermal images of the plurality of test areas, wherein the controller receives and records as at least one of the platform and the test object move relative to each other.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the platform includes a motor for moving the platform in a predetermined direction relative to the test object;

and the controller actuates the motor to move the platform relative to the test object such that the controller records a plurality of the thermal images from a plurality of contiguous images of the plurality of test areas on the test object as the platform moves relative to the test object.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the VISAR is actuated by the controller to detect an arrival of one of the vibrations generated by the EMAT in the one of the plurality of test areas aligned with the infrared detector;

and the controller actuates the infrared detector to detect the thermal images of the test object upon arrival of the one of the vibrations.

4. The system of claim 1, further comprising a visual camera mounted on the platform and connected to the controller to be actuated to photograph the flaws detected by the infrared detector.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the controller includes a global positioning satellite (GPS) sensor that enables the controller to determine and record a location of the flaws detected by the infrared detector.

6. The system of claim 1, further including a data store connected to the controller for storing the images of the flaws detected by the infrared detector.

7. The system of claim 1, further comprising a marker that is actuated by the controller to apply a dye to a selected one of the plurality of test areas.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the infrared detector includes first and second infrared cameras;

and wherein the first and second infrared cameras are actuated sequentially by the controller such that the second infrared camera records a thermal image of a second one of the plurality of test areas, while the first infrared camera is transmitting a previously recorded image of a first one of the plurality of test areas to the controller.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the controller actuates the first infrared camera and the second infrared camera such that the first one of the plurality of test areas is contiguous to the second one of the plurality of test areas.

10. A system for nondestructive evaluation of a surface of a rail, the system comprising:

a carriage shaped to be placed on and move relative to the rail;

an electromagnetic acoustic transducer (EMAT) mounted on the carriage and positioned to generate a magnetic field in the rail to create acoustic vibrations that travel along a surface of the rail;

an infrared detector mounted on the carriage and positioned to record thermal images of a plurality of test areas on the surface of the rail as the carriage moves relative to the rail to detect flaws in the surface of the rail within the plurality of test areas;

a velocity interferometer system for any reflector (VISAR) mounted on the platform and oriented to detect a presence of one of the vibrations in the rail caused by the EMAT in one of the plurality of test areas aligned with the infrared detector; and

a controller connected to the EMAT, the VISAR, and the infrared detector, wherein the controller actuates the EMAT to create the vibrations in the rail and the controller actuates the VISAR and the infrared detector, wherein the connection synchronizes the creation of the vibrations by the EMAT with the recording of the thermal images of the plurality of test areas by the infrared detector, wherein the controller receives signals from the VISAR indicating the presence of the vibrations in the one of the plurality of test areas aligned with the infrared detector, and the infrared detector is triggered to record each of the thermal images of the one of the plurality of test areas aligned with the infrared detector in response to the VISCAR detecting the one of the vibrations in the one of the plurality of test areas, wherein the controller receives a signal from the infrared detector indicative of the thermal images of the surface of the rail, and the controller records locations of the flaws appearing on the thermal images of the plurality of test areas, wherein the controller receives and records as the carriage moves relative to the rail.

11. A method for nondestructive evaluation of a test object, the method comprising:

moving at least one of a platform and the test object relative to each other; and

during the moving,

creating acoustic vibrations along a surface of the test object by actuating an electromagnetic acoustic transducer (EMAT) mounted on the platform to generate a magnetic field in the test object,

actuating an infrared detector mounted on the platform to record thermal images of a plurality of test areas on the surface of the test object,

synchronizing the actuating of the EMAT with the actuating of the infrared detector for the plurality of test areas to record the thermal images as the vibrations reach each of the plurality of test areas to illuminate flaws in the surface of the test object within each of the plurality of test areas, wherein the synchronizing the actuating of the EMAT with the actuating of the infrared detector includes detecting the vibrations in the test object caused by the EMAT by a velocity interferometer system for any reflector (VISAR) mounted on the platform,

triggering the infrared detector to record each of the thermal images of the one of the plurality of test areas aligned with the infrared detector in response to the VISCAR detecting a presence of one of the vibrations in the one of the plurality of test areas, and

recording at least one of the thermal images showing the illuminated flaws appearing on one of the plurality of test areas.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising determining a location of at least one of the thermal images of one of the plurality of test areas by one or more of storing global positioning satellite (GPS) coordinates associated with the at least one of the thermal images, photographing the location of the at least one of the thermal images with a visible light camera, and/or marking the location of the at least one of the thermal images with a dye marker on a corresponding one of the plurality of test areas.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the determining the location of at least one of the thermal images is performed for one of the thermal images when a flaw appears on the one of the thermal images.

14. The method of claim 11, further comprising the nondestructive evaluation of the test object selected from a rail, a wheel, an axle, an aircraft stringer, and an aircraft spar.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein the actuating the infrared detector for the plurality of test areas to record the thermal images includes actuating the infrared detector to record the thermal images of a plurality of contiguous test areas along a predetermined path on the test object.

16. The method of claim 11, further comprising taking an image of one of the plurality of test areas having a flaw with a visible light camera;

storing the image; and

comparing the image of the flaw with a visible light camera with the image of the flaw with the infrared detector to detect a false positive.

17. The method of claim 11, wherein the synchronizing the EMAT with the infrared detector includes actuating first and second infrared cameras sequentially by a controller such that the second infrared camera records a thermal image of a second one of the plurality of test areas while the first infrared camera is transmitting a previously recorded image of a first one of the plurality of test areas to the controller.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the controller actuates the first infrared camera and the second infrared camera such that the first one of the plurality of test areas is contiguous to the second one of the plurality of test areas.