Dept. of Mechanical Engg.

Acknowledgement

I express my sincere gratitude to Vijayanraja, Prof. & Head of

Mechanical Engineering department, for all the help rendered by him. I
express my sincere gratitude to my guides Sri Shasheendran, Sri I. M.
Chandran and Sri T. I. Ramachandran, for guiding and encouraging me
through out. I would like to thank each and every one of my class for the
support and encouragement given throughout the completion of this paper.

I would also like to express my gratitude to the authors and publishers

of textbooks, magazines, journals and websites from where I have collected
the materials and information for this report.

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Dept. of Mechanical Engg.

ABSTRACT

Detection of corrosion damage in aircraft wing skin structures is an

ongoing NDT challenge. Ultrasonic methods are known and well-accepted
techniques, which are relatively simple to carry out in terms of setup, probes and
instrumentation and operator training. However, with conventional inspection
from the top surface using a transducer at normal incidence (0 o to the normal to
the surface) producing a visual picture in the form of a C-scan, it is very tie
consuming to point-by-point inspects large aircraft wing skin areas. In addition it
is too difficult to detect disbonds in thin multilayered and fatigue cracks in the
shadow region at fastener holes in airframe structures where water and humidity
then are infiltrated to create corrosion and exfoliation around and under the
rivets. Ultrasonic guided waves demonstrate potential as promising, global and
fast inspection method. It can be used to compliment and in some cases, be an
alternative to conventional ultrasonic C-scan inspection method.

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Dept. of Mechanical Engg.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

(1) INTRODUCTION

(i) NON-DESTRUCTIVE TESTS

(2) CORROSION DETECTION WITH GUIDED WAVES

(3) EQUIPMENT AND INSTRUMENTATION

(4) INSPECTION RESULTS

(i) LAYER CORROSION USING CONTROLLED THINNING

AREAS

(ii) CORROSION DETECTION IN LAP SPLICE JOINTS

(iii) CORROSION DETECTION UNDER FASTENERS OF

WING SKIN STRUCTURES

(5) CONCLUSION

(6) REFERENCES

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Dept. of Mechanical Engg.

INTRODUCTION

Corrosion is one of the serious problem affecting airforce and other aviation
industries. It affects the aircraft on its wings, surface, between joints and fasteners.
The presences of corrosion underneath the paints of surface and between joints are
not easy to be detected. The unnoticed presence of corrosion may cause the aircraft
to crash leading to human and money loses. To detect the corrosion present on the
metal surface, various methods and tests are used. These tests conducted should be
such that it does not destroy or disassemble the plane to parts or damage its surface.
Hence for the further use of the plane, Non-destructive tests (NDT) are carried out.

NON-DESTRUCTIVE TESTS

Non-destructive testing as the name suggests is testing procedure without any

damage to the part being tested. The various non-destructive testing methods used
are:

1) Visual inspection

2) X-ray inspection

3) Die (liquid) penetration inspection

4) Magnetic particle inspection

5) Eddy current inspection

6) Ultrasonic inspection

Ultrasonic inspection is conventionally used for corrosion detection in

aircraft wings. But the conventional inspection method carries with it certain defects
like:

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Dept. of Mechanical Engg.

(i) It scans perpendicular to the surface and hence rate of scanning (from
point to point) is less and hence highly time consuming.

(ii) Conventional method is not capable of detecting disbonds between layers

and cracks at fastener holes.

These defects are over come by a newly developed inspection method using
guided ultrasonic waves.

Guided waves demonstrate an attractive solution where conventional

ultrasonic inspection techniques are less sensitive to defects such as
corrosion/disbonds in thin multilayered wing skin structures and hidden exfoliation
under wing skin fasteners. Moreover, with their multimode character, selection of
guided wave modes can be optimized for detection of particular types of defects.
Mode optimization can be done by selecting modes with maximum group velocities
(minimum dispersion), or analysis of their wave mode structures (particle
displacements, stresses and power distributions). Guided Lamb modes have been
used for long-range/large area corrosion detection and the evaluation of adhesively
bonded structures. Ultrasonic guided waves are promising but require procedure
development to ensure high sensitivity and reliable transducer coupling and to
provide a mechanism to transport the probe(s) over the area to be scanned. This
paper describes some practical inspection setups and procedures based on guided
wave modes for corrosion damage detection in single and multilayered wing skin
structures and exfoliation detection immediately adjacent to fasteners in aircraft
wing skin. It describes the results of their application to detection of corrosion in
simulated and real components of aircraft wing skin. Using a tone-burst system, the
wave modes are selected, excited and tested in pulse-echo and pitch-catch setups.
Launch angles were obtained from the calculated dispersion curves. Theoretical
group velocities were compared to tested group velocities to confirm the excited
modes at frequency-thickness product and launch angle. The simulated corrosion in
single and multilayered wing skin structures and exfoliation located under several

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Dept. of Mechanical Engg.

rivets was successfully detected. Some guided Lamb modes proved to be more
sensitive to corrosion type defects and produced better results.

CORROSION DETECTION WITH GUIDED WAVES

Guided Lamb modes are dispersive waves and their velocities are a function
of the frequency thickness product. Therefore, any material changes such as
corrosion/exfoliation or lack of adhesion between two layers will affect the
propagating mode amplitude, velocity, frequency spectrum and its time-of-flight.

RF waveforms from guided modes going through a corroded area have a relatively
low transmitted signal amplitude and time-of-flight shift, while noncorroded areas
are associated with stable time-of-flight and high received signal amplitude.

Inspection of lap splice joint with guided waves in a pitch-catch setup

permits a selected guided wave mode to travel from the sender toward the receiver
probe, producing relatively low amplitude RF signal when corrosion exists between
the two bonded parts. Otherwise, if there is no corrosion, the excited mode will leak
into the second joint producing relatively high amplitude RF signal (Figure 1). In a
pulse echo setup, a low RF signal is obtained in the presence of corrosion and high
RF signal is obtained for absence of corrosion.

Fatigue cracks and exfoliation under the shadow of fastener heads in aircraft
skin structures can be detected using ultrasonic guided waves. Guided modes are

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Dept. of Mechanical Engg.

selected and launched from outside the exfoliated and hidden area to interrogate the
interested rivets. In pulse-echo setup, the received mode associated with RF signals
include indications and reflections from exfoliation.

EQUIPMENT AND INSTRUMENTATION

The system used in our experimentation is Tektrend's PANDA Guided Wave

System (Figure 2). The new PANDA Guided Wave System unit is an advanced
modular and portable automated scanning system. It can be configured for
conventional UT and ET transducer positioning, providing C-scan images. The
PANDA can be configured for guided wave inspection, providing cost effective,
practical nondestructive evaluation.

Figure 2. Guided wave testing system

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The PANDA Automated Scanning System is self-contained in a single unit

in which all the electronic boards are mounted in the system computer workstation.
It offers advanced analysis and interpretation capabilities, where intelligent scans
can be performed with a pre-designed intelligent classifier. The system contains
tools to tag signals for export to an integrated pattern recognition package. The
positioning control, ultrasonic control, data acquisition, display and analysis
software are all integrated into a single software package, ARIUS IV.

The Guided Wave System is hosted on flexible rail to allow scanning of

curved surfaces and to enable complete automation of the ultrasonic field inspection.
An adaptable spring-loaded piston design for holding transducers is mounted on the
Y-axis scanning arm, which moves on the X- axis. The system is fitted to the
inspected surface with a vacuum control system. The PANDA Arm can operate in
vertical and horizontal orientations and scan contoured and edged surfaces.
Measurement can be made in pulse-echo as well as pitch-catch modes with
piezoelectric transducer probes (optional with EMAT probes) with 0.005 and 0.002
inch maximum scanning accuracy and resolution with a maximum scanning rate of 6
inches/second at maximum resolution. The transducer probes are driven by a
tone-burst pulser to excite narrow-band guided wave modes and to provide high
power to launch the wave over long distances. With tone-burst excitation, the
operating frequency and the pulse characteristics of the transmitter can be controlled
in a repeatable manner.

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Dept. of Mechanical Engg.

INSPECTION RESULTS

Detectability of corrosion in aircraft wing skins was investigated for three

cases. One layer corrosion using controlled thinning areas, two layers corrosion
detection in lap splice joints and corrosion detection under fasteners of wing skin
structures. Tests were performed using three aluminum specimens with different
types of simulated corrosion.

(i) Layer corrosion using controlled thinning areas:

The first specimen represented 460x405x I mm aluminum plate with

controlled thinning in designated areas. To demonstrate the sensibility of the excited
wave modes, corrosions were induced in three places with different levels of
thinning (10%, 15% and 25%). Measurements were made using the pitch-catch
setup which consisted of two variable angle broadband transducers with central
frequencies at 3.5 MHz, one of the transducers acts as transmitter used to generate
the guided wave mode and the other one was used to receive the generated mode and
its interaction with the corroded structure.

The first set of tests demonstrates detectability of the open corrosion on the
aluminum plate using the pitch catch setup with piezo-composite transducers to
generate the A1 mode at 2.2 MHz with an incident angle of 200. Figures 3 b, 3 c and
3 d show the RF waveforms obtained with transducers positioned perpendicular to
the corroded areas (three locations), while Figure 3a shows RF waveform obtained
with transducers perpendicular to the noncorroded area.

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Dept. of Mechanical Engg.

A1 guided mode signals passing through the corroded area have a transmitted
signal low amplitude and higher time-of-flight which is consistent with theoretically
calculated group velocity dispersion curves, while signals from the noncorroded area
are associated with stable time-of-flight and high received signal amplitude.
Therefore, wave propagation behavior in corroded areas allows estimation of the
percentage of the corrosion material loss. Mode selection and optimization can
improve the resolution of material loss estimation.

Figure 3. a) noncorroded area b) corroded area c) corroded area d) corroded area

(ii) Corrosion detection in lap splice joints

Tests were also carried out on 406x322x1.0 mm lap joint (Figure 4). The
width of the bonded area was 68.5 mm. The lap Joint was assembled and subjected
to accelerated corrosion in a salt fog chamber.

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Dept. of Mechanical Engg.

Guided wave inspection was performed on the lap joint specimen and
inspection results were evaluated in terms of the sensitivity and repeatability.
Scanning was carried out over the sample illustrated in Figure 4 along the
X-direction using two transducers in the pitch-catch setup to excite the S0 mode at
1.5 MHz.

The corroded area between the second and the first aluminum layers, created
a disbond and permitted bad transmission of the generated mode from the sender
toward the receiver without any energy leakage in the additional bonded aluminum
layer. In the noncorroded area, there was a good bond between the second and the
first layer; therefore, the transmitted signal amplitude was attenuated due to leakage
of the transmitted energy into the second layer.

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Dept. of Mechanical Engg.

Figure 5 a shows single line modified C-scan results of this inspection and
presents a series of signals in three-dimensional format. Transducer displacement
(X-direction), time-of-flight (Y-direction) and signal amplitudes (Z-direction). The
well-bonded (non-corroded) areas are characterized by high amplitude signals
(signals indicated by red colour). Poorly bonded areas (caused by corrosion) resulted
in a reduction of amplitude of the received signals as shown by the low amplitude
echoes at both ends of the specimen. The high and low amplitude signals are
represented by the lighter and heavier colors, respectively. The interruptions between
signals in Figure 5a-are due to the presence of rivets. To verify the guided wave
results, these specimens were also inspected using, an eddy-current technique as
well as an enhanced optical technique (D-Sight). Corrosion was detected in the two
ends of the specimen by both techniques as shown in Figure 5b and 5c. The red and
orange colors in the eddy current image show areas of severe corrosion while the
green and blue represent areas having very light corrosion. In the D-Sight image, the
existence of corrosion is inferred by the presence of waviness (pillowing) between
the rivets, which is Caused by the formation of corrosion products (aluminum oxide
and hydroxide) at the interface between the two plates.

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(iii) Corrosion detection under fasteners of wing skin structures

The third series of tests were performed on fasteners of wing skin

structures to detect corrosion damage immediately adjacent to the fastener holes in
airframe structures as shown in Figure 6. Fatigue cracks commonly initiate at
fasteners since high stresses around it are created. Water and humidity then are
infiltrated to create exfoliation and corrosion around and under the rivets. As the
guided waves penetrate within and beyond the region of the fastener head, ultrasonic
energy is reflected from discontinuities (corrosion, mechanical damage) present in
the region of interrogation.

In this test, once again, a linear manual guided wave scan was performed by
moving a single transducer in a pulse-echo mode at 3.5 MHz with in incident angle
of 370 along the specimen in the Y-direction parallel to the fastener row at a distance
varying from 0.1 to 0.5 from the line of holes (Figure 7). The displacement of the
wedge/transducer assembly was performed using the PANDA automated scanner
shown in Figure 3 which encoded position in both the x and y directions. One full
RF waveform was acquired at every 0.12mm along the scan path. The RF waveform
was digitized at 100 MHz and contained 2048 points. The acquired signals were
averaged and filtered and all the data for each scan were saved in a file for later
retrieval and analysis.

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Dept. of Mechanical Engg.

Figure 8 shows single line of scan results of this inspection. The image is
color-coded according to the reflected amplitude (ultrasonic energy); i.e., blue
corresponds to minimum reflected energy and white to maximum (Figure 8). The
time scale increases vertically from top to bottom and the horizontal scale
corresponds to the scan displacement at an increment.

The reflected energy front the left-hand Cluster shows a trail of small
reflections on both the left and right of the fastener. These regions are indicated in
boxes in Figure 8. These reflection trails are clearly distinguishable from the
indication of a defect-free cluster shown on the right in Figure 8. Interpretation of
the fastener hole integrity is based on the presence of a trailing shadow below the
fasteners on either side of the main reflection. Although the exfoliation reflectors are
more diffuse than the discrete reflectors provided by crack-like defects, the
indications are clear.

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Performance and repeatability tests were performed on similar specimens.

The initial inspection and immediate interpretation provided 46% identification rate
of all defects in the 15"x12"x0.2 specimens (68% If we include the possible
defects) with two false calls. Based on the experience obtained during Inspection
Sessions, a subsequent interpretation session gave a detectability score of 90% with
5 false calls. The false calls were subsequently attributed to coupling inconsistencies
and possibly stray signals produced by the presence of the stringer attached to the
specimen.

CONCLUSION

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Dept. of Mechanical Engg.

A practical inspection procedure was demonstrated using guided waves for

fast and effective inspection to detect and locate defects in layered aircraft
structures. Lamb wave inspection can be carried out either by using two probes in
pitch-catch or one probe in pulse-echo configurations. It can detect corrosion in lap-
splice joints in a single scan and the procedure setup is suitable for presentation of
the results as an image relating the amplitude and time-of-flight to facilitate
interpretation. It has also the capability to detect the extend of corrosion.

Results form exfoliation under the shadow of fastener heads was detected
using ultrasonic guided waves launched from outside the area with imaging to assist
in interpretation. However, results form thicker tapered wing skin specimens were
not conclusive, the guided wave technique did not seem to apply appropriately to
these samples. It appears that some bulk shear components dominated the scan
results and provided extra reflection from the countersink and the exfoliation. It also
suffers from the drawback of the need of highly sensitive and reliable transducers.

REFERENCES:

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Dept. of Mechanical Engg.

(1) Ultrasonic guided waves for NDE of Adhesively Bonded Joints in Aging Aircraft

by J.L.Rose, K.Rajana

(2) Production technology by R.K.Gain,

(3) Production technology by O.P.khanna

(4) schehl@udri.udayton.edu

(5) www.tisec.com

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