Component Adaptive Life Management
First Claim
1. A computer-readable storage medium comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, perform a method comprising acts of:
- receiving at least two sets of sensor data, each of the at least two sets of sensor data comprising spatial data for a measured material condition of a component;
spatially registering the at least two sets of sensor data with respect to each other and the component;
computing a change in the material condition of the component from the spatially registered at least two sets of sensor data;
estimating the current condition based at least in part on the change in the material condition; and
predicting a future condition of the component at a future time based at least in part on the estimated current condition, the future condition of the component being predicted using a database comprising a plurality of precomputed material conditions of the component, each precomputed material condition computed for a respective operating condition and time;
the method further comprising generating the precomputed material conditions using a flaw growth model;
storing the precomputed material conditions in the database;
filtering at least one of the at least two sets of sensor data with at least one flaw signature; and
estimating a current condition of the component from the filtered sensor data, and a stored database of historical sensor data from a simple element selected to represent the component material and flaw growth behavior.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A framework for adaptively managing the life of components. A sensor provides non-destructive test data obtained from inspecting a component. The inspection data may be filtered using reference signatures and by subtracting a baseline. The filtered inspection data and other inspection data for the component is analyzed to locate flaws and estimate the current condition of the component. The current condition may then be used to predict the component'"'"'s condition at a future time or to predict a future time at which the component'"'"'s condition will have deteriorated to a certain level. A current condition may be input to a precomputed database to look up the future condition or time. The future condition or time is described by a probability distribution which may be used to assess the risk of component failure. The assessed risk may be used to determine whether the part should continue in service, be replaced or repaired. A hyperlattice database is used with a rapid searching method to estimate at least one material condition and one usage parameter, such as stress level for the component. The hyperlattice is also used to rapidly predict future condition, associated uncertainty and risk of failure.
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Citations
26 Claims
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1. A computer-readable storage medium comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, perform a method comprising acts of:
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receiving at least two sets of sensor data, each of the at least two sets of sensor data comprising spatial data for a measured material condition of a component; spatially registering the at least two sets of sensor data with respect to each other and the component; computing a change in the material condition of the component from the spatially registered at least two sets of sensor data; estimating the current condition based at least in part on the change in the material condition; and predicting a future condition of the component at a future time based at least in part on the estimated current condition, the future condition of the component being predicted using a database comprising a plurality of precomputed material conditions of the component, each precomputed material condition computed for a respective operating condition and time; the method further comprising generating the precomputed material conditions using a flaw growth model; storing the precomputed material conditions in the database; filtering at least one of the at least two sets of sensor data with at least one flaw signature; and estimating a current condition of the component from the filtered sensor data, and a stored database of historical sensor data from a simple element selected to represent the component material and flaw growth behavior. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A method of predicting a risk of failure before a future time, the method comprising:
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inspecting a feature of a component using a non-destructive testing (NDT) method, wherein the NDT method is performed at a plurality of inspection times at a plurality of locations on the component, the NDT method producing inspection data for the plurality of locations at each of the plurality of inspection times; storing the inspection data in a computer-readable storage medium; operating at least one processor to determine, based at least in part on the inspection data, if a damage feature is growing within the component and, when insufficient information exists to reliably detect the damage feature using the inspection data at one of the inspection times, generating an enhanced response from the inspection data at two or more of the inspection times and using a precomputed database with two or more dimensions as a function of sensed condition and usage that is searched to determine the risk of failure before the future time. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method of predicting a future time at which a critical damage level will be reached, the method comprising:
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inspecting a feature of a component using a non-destructive testing (NDT) method, wherein the NDT method is performed at a plurality of inspection times at a plurality of locations of the component, the NDT method producing inspection data for the plurality of locations at each of the plurality of inspection times; storing the inspection data in a computer-readable storage medium; operating at least one processor to determine, based at least in part on the inspection data, if a damage feature is growing within the component and, when insufficient information exists to reliably detect the damage feature using the inspection data at one of the plurality of inspection times, to generate an enhanced response from the inspection data at two or more of the plurality of inspection times and using a database generated using a model of damage evolution to predict the probability distribution of future times at which the critical damage level will be reached. - View Dependent Claims (16)
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17. A method for tracking process progression comprising:
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operating a processor to; process a first inspection image of a component to rank an original plurality of locations of the component, wherein the original plurality of locations are ranked based on a quantitative measure that correlates with predicted crack growth rate at the respective location; filter a second inspection image of the component using filters devised from signatures to suppress indications that are not representative of a condition of interest and enhance the response of conditions that are more likely to represent the condition of interest; and re-rank the original plurality of locations using the filtered second inspection image including additional highly ranked locations, wherein the second inspection image is acquired at a later time than the first inspection image. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A computer-readable storage medium comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, perform a method comprising acts of:
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spatially registering a baseline response of a component and a current response of the component; after the spatially registering, subtracting the baseline response from the current response; and estimating a probability distribution of a current condition of the component by applying a statistical analysis using a set of responses from one or more simplified elements. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26)
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Specification