Evaluation of Scanners for C-Scan Imaging for Nondestructive Inspection of Aircraft

The goal of this project was to produce a document that contains information on the usability and performance of commercially available, field able, and portable scanner systems as they apply to aircraft nondestructive inspections. In particular, the scanners are used to generate images of eddy current, ultrasonic, or bond tester inspection data. The scanner designs include manual scanners, semi automated scanners, and fully automated scanners. A brief description of the functionality of each scanner type, a sketch, and a list of the companies that support the particular design are provided. Vendors of each scanner type provided hands-on demonstrations of their equipment on aircraft samples in the Federal Aviation Administration FAA Aging Aircraft Nondestructive Inspection Validation Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico. From evaluations recorded during the demonstrations, a matrix of scanner features and factors and ranking of the capabilities and limitations of the design, portability, articulation, performance, usability, and computer hardwaresoftware was constructed to provide a quick reference to compare the different scanner types. Illustrations of C-scan images obtained during the demonstration are shown. Aging aircraft, Portable systems, Ultrasonic, Eddy Current.