It’s a material whirl!

Aerospace test engineers are constantly looking for fast, cost-efficient inspection solutions that give them new levels of confidence, insight and control. Establishing a reliable and trusted single source for high-performance products and solutions in both Eddy Current and UT technologies is usually at the forefront of their requirements – particularly when looking for non-destructive testing (NDT) solutions that encompass the critical inspection needs of the aerospace sector.

NDT is used both during the manufacturing phase of the aircraft to ensure it is fit for airworthiness, and also for examination in the field to test for repair after impact damage.

Zetec is a leading NDT solutions provider and feels it is uniquely placed to meet its customers’ inspection needs. Manufacturing its own equipment means it has the control and capacity to ensure the high quality as well as the ability to integrate design and engineering with manufacturing to deliver new advances in productivity, safety and total cost of ownership.

With the latest generations of aircraft comprising increasing amounts of advanced lightweight materials and carbon fibre-reinforced polymer (CFRP), I begin by asking Zetec Quebec’s technology manager, Daniel Richard what types of materials performance demands are currently placed on his company by today’s aerospace designers.

“Material performance is dictated by the aerospace designer and implemented by their various providers,” he begins. “Their general aim is often to improve robustness and reduce weight, but from an NDT provider they want reliable inspection always with faster inspection time.

“Increasing use of CFRP material is driving the trend for more NDT requirements. For example, the Boeing 787 and Airbus A350 are using more CFRP components than ever before. The current rate at which orders are taken for new aircraft is outstripping production capability, leading to a need to increase the production and inspection pace.”

Covering all the bases

More specifically, Richard says that on the inspection side, Zetec is seeing a trend where inspection is migrating from manual practices - where an inspector performs a cursory exam and writes a report stating that the component is ‘fit for duty’ - to 100% encoded solutions, which require a scanner and ensures that the location of the phased array signal is properly referenced in relation to the component inspected.

“In the past, there would be instances where the main sections of any components were inspected, but more difficult areas like the edge were ‘elected-out’. The aerospace sector is increasingly demanding 100% coverage and 100% recorded results so that a permanent trace of all the inspection data is required.

“However, there are technology hurdles to overcome, and encoding at this level requires a scanner which is often cumbersome, slow and expensive. The scanner must also be able to adapt properly to the shape of the component being inspected, which means some strong bends and curves for CFRP components.

“Innovative solutions like ‘time reversal’ technology helps reduce this dependence on complex and expensive scanners by replacing a degree of mechanical positioning of the probe with a capability of the probe to emit an ultrasound beam that is ‘auto-oriented’ toward the component to inspect.”

In terms of the NDT product-related R&D time, money and effort invested to increase its capabilities to test materials, Zetec has taken a much more proactive aerospace-related course in the past 3-4 years.

“Typically, a new instrument platform comes along every two years to target a specific a market or niche. We have a R&D team permanently developing new solutions and products to improve inspection capability. They include all the different concentrations of software engineering, hardware, electronics, physicist, probe designer, mechanical, etc.”

Inspection on a roll

Perhaps the biggest news emerging from the company in recent years has been its Topaz family of 16-channel and 32-channel fully-integrated phased array ultrasonic inspection instruments. Zetec claims that in terms of portable productivity, Topaz remains at the forefront for low cost of ownership and accurate and efficient inspection.

“Topaz is truly an efficient instrument, but what sets it apart is how it integrates with other components to make it a complete solution. In combination with Zetec’s NDT Paintbrush scanner, Topaz offers an in-field inspection capability which enables ramp-side damage assessment capability. Fully encoded and recorded, Topaz satisfies new requirements for tracking every inspection. Fast and easy to deploy, it can be used by maintenance personnel and doesn’t require any expertise. It’s also self-sufficient, covering everything from the planning of the examination to the inspection and the analysis and reporting, which can be done on the instrument itself. There is no need to carry a computer or other external software to help.

“For a facility manufacturing CFRP components, we’re offering the Zircon data acquisition unit. This instrument supports the ‘time reversal’ technology mentioned before and enables the inspection of components with varying geometry. For example, spars and stringers often exhibit changes in geometry along their axial length, such as bend and bow, angle change on the web or flange and taper or thickness change.”

Automate to innovate

In terms of future aerospace NDT testing developments, Richard predicts a growing desire from end-users to remove the human element from the inspection and interpretation of results.

“This may lead to the introduction of automated analysis functions. Zetec has been a pioneer within the power generation industry and has successfully deployed an expert automatic analysis system called ‘RevospECT’ for the evaluation of steam generator tubes using Eddy Currents. We also foresee an expansion on this trend in the future and leverage our knowledge and capability to use in the examination using phased array.”

And in an ever-changing and challenging economic climate, like any other company, Zetec has to adapt to the global business challenges, and particularly the emergence of low-end vendors i.e. those new players in the industry that often offer product with a lower price tag, bringing the price of every player down with them.

“While they are still low-end products today, we see their capabilities increasing every year, which presents a risk to our revenue base,” Richard concludes. “To counteract this, we aim for mission-critical inspection applications with a focus on innovation that delivers results including lower total cost of ownership and improved probabilities of detection. We offer solutions and not just product and boxes, which cover the full examination requirements. This includes expert support to help design the inspection method and all the probes, scanners, phased array instruments, accessories, training and support required.”

www.zetec.com