Robotic Ultrasonic Testing Technology for Aero-Engine Blades.

With the rapid development of the aerospace industry, the quality inspection of complex curved components, such as aero-engine blades, is becoming increasingly strict. In contrast with other NDT methods, ultrasonic testing is easier to automate, while offering higher accuracy and efficiency in thickness measuring. To solve the challenge of the automated NDT inspection of aero-engine blades, in this study, an ultrasonic inspection system with a six degree of freedom (DOF) was proposed for industrial robots. Additionally, a defect detection model and a thickness detection method were proposed for the robotic ultrasonic inspection system, based on the thickness variation of the aero-engine blade. Through the quantitative analysis on engine blades with prefabricated defects and curved test blocks with stepped thicknesses, it can be concluded that our system is able to achieve high accuracy in defect detection and thickness measurement.

Research on Inherent Frequency and Vibration Characteristics of Sandwich Piezoelectric Ceramic Transducer.

Great progress has been made in the field of ultrasonic processing in recent years, and piezoelectric ceramic transducers have been widely used as drive sources. In this paper, a sandwich piezoelectric ceramic transducer is designed, and the vibration of each part of the transducer is analyzed by elastic mechanics and piezoelectric theory. According to its mechanical and electrical boundary conditions, the vibration model of the piezoelectric transducer was established. Based on the equivalent elastic modulus method for simplifying the pre-stressed bolts into a one-dimensional transducer vibration model, the relationship between the one-dimensional axial response frequency of the transducer and the length of each component was obtained. Based on the half wavelength theory, a transducer with the vibration node in the crystal stack and an inherent frequency of 15 kHz was designed and fabricated. In order to verify the natural frequency and vibration characteristics of the piezoelectric transducer, a laser vibration measurement system was built in this study. The vibration characteristics of the transducer under different parameters such as voltage and frequency were analyzed, and the accuracy of the vibration model was verified. The vibration states of the end surface of the transducer and the radial surface were evaluated at the first-order inherent frequency and second-order inherent frequency. The results show that the equivalent simplified model established in this study can effectively design the inherent frequency of the transducer, and the operation at the first-order inherent frequency meets the one-dimensional assumptions of this study. The transducer operating conditions measured in this study also provide a more detailed reference for ultrasonic processing applications.

Ultrasonic Non-Destructive Testing System of Semi-Enclosed Workpiece with Dual-Robot Testing System.

With the rapid development of material science, more and more workpieces, especially workpieces with complex curved surfaces, are being made of composite materials. Robotic non-destructive testing (NDT) systems for complex curved surface composite material parts are being used more and more. Despite the emergence of such flexible NDT systems, the detection of semi-enclosed parts is also a challenge for robotic NDT systems. In order to overcome the problem, this paper establishes an NDT solution for semi-enclosed workpieces based on a dual-robot system of synchronous motion, in which an extension arm is installed on one of the robots and presents a trajectory planning method that always ensures the extension arm is parallel to the rotary axis of a semi-enclosed workpiece and that the ultrasonic probes are perpendicular to the workpiece surface. Trajectory analysis experiments and ultrasonic NDT experiments utilizing the optimal water path distance determined by simulation result of multi-Gaussian beam model for two types of semi-enclosed workpieces are performed with the dual-robot NDT system. Experimental results prove that the dual-robot NDT scheme functions well and the planned trajectories are correct. All the hole-shaped artificial defects with diameters ≥3 mm are detected by using 2.25 MHz ultrasonic probes through the transmission testing method. Vivid 3D C-scan image of a small diameter cylindrical workpiece based on the testing result is provided for convenience of observation.

Robotic Ultrasonic Measurement of Residual Stress in Complex Curved Surface Components.

The automatic measurement, especially for products with complex shapes, has always been one of the most important application areas of robots. Aiming at the challenge of measuring residual stress under curved surface, in this paper, the residual stress ultrasonic measuring robot system with two manipulators is constructed, which is based on combining industrial robot technology with residual stress ultrasonic nondestructive measuring technology. The system is mainly composed of a motion control system, an ultrasonic detection system, and a data processing system. The robotic arm controls the movement of the two ultrasonic transducers along the set scanning path which is based on the geometric model of components and adjusts the transducer's posture in time according to the shape of the workpiece being measured. The configuration information based on workpiece coordinate system is transformed into a position data that takes into consideration the first critical angle and can be recognized by the robot. Considering the effect of curvature, the principle model of residual stress measuring by the critical refraction longitudinal wave is established. The measured signal including the stress state of the measured region, as well as the actual position and posture information of the transducers, is processed by the computer in real time, which realizes automatic nondestructive measurement of residual stress under curved surface.

Crack Assessment of Wheel Hubs via an Ultrasonic Transducer and Industrial Robot.

Crack assessment when making fitness-for-service decisions requires a thorough examination of crack location and size in critical areas. An ultrasonic transducer is used for such assessments, but traditional methods cannot cope with complex rotators, such as wheel hubs. We present a model of robot-assisted crack growth assessment in wheel hubs. We integrate a six-degrees-of-freedom (DOF) industrial robot and a turntable to form a robot-assisted ultrasonic testing (UT) system that does not use traditional UT equipment. Ultrasonic beams are focused at certain depths appropriate for achieving maximum sensitivity. We quantitatively analysed wheel hubs with longitudinal and transverse series of pre-cracks, and concluded that our system autonomously detected cracks.

Measurement methods of ultrasonic transducer sensitivity.

Sensitivity is an important parameter to describe the electro-acoustic energy conversion efficiency of ultrasonic transducer. In this paper, the definition of sensitivity and reciprocity of ultrasonic transducer is studied. The frequency response function of a transducer is the spectrum of its sensitivity, which reflects the response sensitivity of the transducer for input signals at different frequencies. Four common methods which are used to measure the disc-vibrator transducer sensitivity are discussed in current investigation. The reciprocity method and the pulse-echo method are based on the reciprocity of the transducer. In the laser vibrometer method measurement, the normal velocity on the transducer radiating surface is directly measured by a laser vibrometer. In the measurement process of the hydrophone method, a calibrated hydrophone is used to measure the transmitted field. The validity of these methods is checked by experimental test. All of the four methods described are sufficiently accurate for transducer sensitivity measurement, while each method has its advantages and limitations. In practical applications, the appropriate method to measure transducer sensitivity should be selected based on actual conditions.