Say goodbye to production bottlenecks. Veracity claims it can speed component development time to production as well as reduce aircraft downtime. Sounds like a dream come true? Aerospace Manufacturing decided to discover more.

Due to the increasing use of carbon fibre composite materials found within the structures of the latest civil aircraft programmes, many major aircraft OEMs are facing some very unique and specific test and measurement challenges. As a result, this is creating a demand for the kind of inspection systems that can rapidly identify potential composite material quality issues, such as those introduced during aircraft production and those that have come as a result of barely visible impact damage due to a bird strike or an unintentional collision with an aircraft on the ramp.

Although the medical industry has devoted vast sums of money to the development of ultrasonic technology and research, Tulsa, Oklahoma-based Veracity Technology Solutions has taken the basis of this advanced ultrasonic technology and re-engineered it for use in the aerospace industry.

This has resulted in the Veracity 2400 ultrasonic unit, which is said to provide unmatched resolution and sensitivity. This instrument, along with the associated development activities, has provided inspection solutions that are currently in use by the USAF, US Army and composite manufacturers. This system which initially operated through a B-scan only view evolved into a complete ultrasonic system that has A-, B- and C-scan capabilities as well as 3D tomographic imaging.

Veracity decided to establish the company in the State of Oklahoma because it offers a wide range of aerospace organisations servicing both military and commercial markets. For example, Tinker Air Force Base provides overhaul for many different aircraft and has a need for specialised life time evaluation to extend the service life of aircraft in the military inventory.

Oklahoma is also home to several smaller aircraft part providers including composite parts for Boeing, Airbus, GE and PWA Aircraft engines. Many of these manufacturers don’t possess the ability to provide the necessary level of the required non-destructive inspection (NDI) mandated by these OEMs. On the commercial side, companies such as Nordam and American Airlines call Oklahoma home. These companies work with composite parts and the demand for composite inspection continues to rise.

The here and now

In terms of the current NDI inspection challenges and bottlenecks, Veracity believes that the NDI sector is fairly small and comprises an aging knowledge base and personnel. The demand for composite expertise continues to rise with the increase in the implementation of composite materials.

There is concern that composite inspections are a bottleneck in the production model. Because composites offer significant strength to weight ratios over traditional metal components, the use of composites is increasing. Additionally, the need to inspect these components has increased over the years. Composites were traditionally used on non-load bearing components and the inspection requirements were less stringent. With the increased use of composites on critical structures and the nature of how composites are created, there is an increasing need to provide 100% inspection during the production process. This requires increasing capital in the development of unique technologies that provide higher fidelity than previously available. This is one area that Veracity has strived to be a leader in. Through the use of the 2400 ultrasonic unit and 128 element linear array technology, production times can be decreased while increasing fidelity.

In order to rapidly identify potential composite material quality issues, Veracity employs state-of-the-art inspection methods to check the integrity of aircraft components off the production line. With the incredible resolution and 3D capability of the ultrasonic system, it has the ability to quantify minor (and not necessary rejectable) discontinuities in the development phase and suggest corrective actions to ensure that such discontinuities do not become defects. This therefore mitigates the risk during the production phase in which it may possibly propagate into a rejectable defect. Experiments are also being conducted on an implementation of a remote inspection system in which an operator can operate an automated scanner at the production facility and the technician can review the data from a remote location. This capability removes the need to have high in demand manpower resources onsite.

And in terms of aircraft on the ground (AOG), in service and on the ramp inspection methods, Veracity has extensive NDI experience in the military in-situ and the gas turbine world. In-situ inspections are frequently at unique locations, in less than optimal working conditions, and have stricter time constraints. Specialised transducers and portable equipment are needed to provide a quick and efficient inspection in these often hard to reach locations. Veracity can respond to field service requirements and its technology is field portable. Additionally, Veracity also provides the latest Eddy Current (EC) development activities and has over nine patented EC processes. Veracity has been very successful in providing customer in-situ inspection activities in the identification of in service defects that can lead to failures.

Beneath the surface

Veracity currently inspects for all common anomalies such as barely visible impact damage, porosity, inclusions, delaminations, dis-bonds, ply wrinkling, and fibre waviness. The company is also performing research in determining fibre ply orientation techniques through tomographic imaging of the collected ultrasonic data.

Veracity helps lower costs by decreasing inspection times while producing higher fidelity results. Through its linear array technology, Veracity can inspect a larger area than traditional ultrasonic methods. Future developments in the remote inspection system may remove the requirement of an organisation to have a qualified NDI inspector onsite. When inspections can be performed remotely, that will reduce the costs of the individual organisation.

In summary, Veracity provides field service inspections for the civil aviation and the defence industries among others. Veracity recently established a manufacturing inspection facility in Hayden, Idaho at Unitech Composites - another company within the AGC Aerospace & Defence family. Instituting an onsite inspection facility gives Veracity unique expertise in the entire manufacturing process from the design stage through to production, including the inspection phase.

www.veracityts.com