Advanced, couplant free non-destructive testing system for next generation composite parts - CFLUX

适用于下一代复合材料零件的先进、无耦合剂无损测试系统 - CFLUX

• 批准号: 113229
• 金额: $ 63.68万
• 依托单位: M. WRIGHT & SONS LIMITED
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: BEIS-Funded Programmes
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2019 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=113229
• 关键词: Advanced; couplant; free; non; destructive

The use of composite materials in aerospace manufacture is accelerating fast, with the most modern aircraft in the world's fleet now more than 50% composite materials. These new-generation aeroplanes are lighter, more fuel-efficient, and so more profitable, as well as significantly reducing CO2 emissions compared to traditional aluminium planes. However, composite materials are much more expensive to produce, partly because they are not yet as well-understood as metals, so the industry spends millions every year slowly inspecting each part for flaws before it is deemed safe enough to take its place in an aircraft, and inspecting composite components is not easy.Carbon fibre composite is in many ways an ideal material for aerospace construction, being less dense than aluminium, with a greater stiffness-to-weight ratio. It does not corrode and it is less susceptible to fatigue. Carbon fibre components can be moulded directly into their required geometry, reducing the need for vulnerable bonded areas. But there is also the possibility of introducing weakened areas when constructing the material itself - fibres can break or move out of alignment, layers can separate, gaps can open up, and this can all happen invisibly, deep within the internal structure of the material, weakening it and leading to unexpected failure.Manufacturers need techniques to inspect the internal structure of their carbon fibre components and CFLUX is designed to do just that. The inspiration comes from traditional eddy current non-destructive testing techniques that have been used for aluminium aircraft. These are fast and effective for finding hidden flaws but rely on the good conductivity of metals. Carbon fibre is 1000 times less conductive than aluminium, making eddy current testing impossible, until now.The CFLUX consortium have developed innovative sensor technology that can give sensitivities 1000 times greater than before, retrieving high-quality, high-resolution signals that were previously unachievable. Not only that, but this technology is tiny, making it easy to develop into multi-sensor arrays that are resilient, flexible and ideal for use in the production-line robotics necessary to really speed up and reduce the cost of the inspection process.Robotic inspections using CFLUX are expected to be more than 30 times faster than current processes, reducing inspection costs from £1,292 to just £72 for a single 34m2 composite component. This supports the aerospace industry in its drive for safe aircraft that are lighter, more cost-efficient, and have a reduced impact on our environment.

复合材料在航空航天制造中的应用正在加速，目前世界上最现代化的飞机中50%以上采用复合材料。这些新一代飞机更轻，更省油，因此更有利可图，与传统的铝制飞机相比，还大大减少了二氧化碳排放。然而，复合材料的生产成本要高得多，部分原因是人们对它们的了解还不如金属，因此，在认为每个部件足够安全，可以在飞机上占据一席之地之前，该行业每年花费数百万美元来缓慢地检查每个部件的缺陷，而检查复合材料部件并不容易。碳纤维复合材料在许多方面都是航空航天结构的理想材料，其密度低于铝，具有更大的刚度重量比。它不会腐蚀，不易疲劳。碳纤维部件可以直接成型为所需的几何形状，减少了对脆弱粘合区域的需求。但是，在构建材料本身时，也有可能引入弱化区域-纤维可能会断裂或脱离对齐，层可能会分离，间隙可能会打开，这一切都可能在材料内部结构的深处无形地发生，制造商需要技术来检查其碳纤维部件的内部结构，而CFLUX旨在做到这一点。就是这样其灵感来自于用于铝合金飞机的传统涡流无损检测技术。这些方法可以快速有效地发现隐藏的缺陷，但依赖于金属的良好导电性。碳纤维的导电性比铝低1000倍，这使得涡流检测成为不可能，直到现在。CFLUX联盟已经开发出创新的传感器技术，可以提供比以前高1000倍的灵敏度，检索以前无法实现的高质量，高分辨率的信号。不仅如此，这项技术体积小，易于开发成多传感器阵列，这些传感器阵列具有弹性、灵活性，非常适合用于生产线机器人，从而真正加快并降低检测过程的成本。预计使用CFLUX的机器人检测速度将比目前的工艺快30倍以上，检测成本从1英镑，292英镑到72英镑，用于单个34平方米的复合材料组件。这有助于航空航天业推动更轻、更具成本效益、对环境影响更小的安全飞机。