Ultrasonic Guided Waves for Anomaly Detection in Aircraft Components

Ultrasonic guided waves are considered for the testing of various components used in the aircraft industry. Natural wave guides are present on many aircraft components. Subsequently, guided waves can be used to test hard to access areas quite easily. Guided waves are also ideal for applications involving large areas of testing, as well as cases where direct access to a specific component is not possible. A test protocol for crack and anomaly testing in specific parts is developed. Phase velocity and frequency tuning are used to excite specific points on the dispersion curves. By exciting these so called transient resonant modes, it becomes possible to detect anomalies in different mechanical components and structures. Cracks in helicopter blade models were detected with guided waves. Corrosion and cracks in multilayer media and cracks in landing gear models were also studied. Other investigated problems in this work involve the detection of fuselage wall thinning, the integrity of tear strap assemblies, the debonding of skin to core in honeycomb structures, and the debonding of joints, specifically lap splice joints.