Grant: CCI Applied Research and Development Grants

The aerospace industry is increasingly adopting additive manufacturing (AM) as a more eco-friendly and economical fabrication method due to its potential to reduce aircraft weight, fuel consumption, and raw material usage compared to traditional machining methods. However, for AM to be applied to critical aircraft components, it is essential to develop and validate non-destructive testing (NDT) methods that ensure the structural integrity of these parts. This project is a collaboration between the Centre Technologique en Aérospatiale (CTA) and Pratt & Whitney Canada, aiming to adapt and evaluate advanced ultrasonic NDT methods to inspect an aircraft engine part under development by Pratt & Whitney Canada. The first phase of the project involves the identification of the characteristics of defects that may be produced during the fabrication process, such as their shape, size, orientation and position within the part. This information will direct the fabrication of AM samples, incorporating artificial defects with relevant characteristics that accurately reflect the flaws anticipated in the production process. Meanwhile, numerical simulations will be carried out to understand the ultrasound propagation within the part and simulate the interaction between the acoustic waves and defects. Subsequently, using the simulation results, the performance of various ultrasonic phased array imaging methods, including the Total Focusing Method (TFM), phase coherence imaging (PCI), and pulse-echo phased-array technique, will be evaluated and adapted. In addition, the "signature method," a novel approach developed at CTA for identifying defective parts by analyzing their acoustic signature, will also be evaluated. Finally, the simulation results will be validated experimentally using the UT methods and the samples produced with artificial defects. The minimal defect size detectable for each defect type and NDT method employed will be determined and communicated to the partner alongside considerations for implementing such inspection methods in production.