Endoscopic system for in situ ultrasonic inspection of aero-engines using optically excited ultrasonic transducers

Stratoudaki, Theodosia and Ageeva, Victoria and Clark, Matt and Somekh, Michael G. and Kell, James and Wright, David C.; (2013) Endoscopic system for in situ ultrasonic inspection of aero-engines using optically excited ultrasonic transducers. In: 52nd Annual Conference of the British Institute of Non-Destructive Testing 2013, NDT 2013. British Institute of Non-Destructive Testing, GBR, pp. 114-124. ISBN 9781629939933

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Abstract

CHeap Optical Transducers (CHOTs) are a non-contact, wireless, couplant-free alternative to the traditional piezoelectric transducers and can be used for ultrasonic inspection. Because they are cheap and very small, they can be used in large numbers and in different ways to normal ultrasonic probes. For example, they could be mounted permanently on the component for easy repeatable measurements or considered as disposables: use once and throw away. CHOTs are structures attached to the surface of the test component that are optically excited using a simple laser set-up to either generate or detect ultrasound. The use of CHOTs enables testing of components inaccessible by other techniques and potentially enabling on-site and in-service ultrasonic testing currently unavailable to the industry. An example case study of CHOTs for in situ inspection of aero-engines, without dismantling them will be presented. An endoscopic system for CHOTs excitation has been developed which uses optical fibres for generating and detecting the ultrasonic signal. The design and construction of the portable system will be presented as well as the various methods for fabricating, attaching and "reading" the CHOTs.

ORCID iDs

Stratoudaki, Theodosia ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7462-8664, Ageeva, Victoria, Clark, Matt, Somekh, Michael G., Kell, James and Wright, David C.;
CORE (COnnecting REpositories)