A novel non-destructive testing method for turbine disks using dual array ultrasonic transducer

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Non-Destructive Testing
• Aerospace Engineering

Background:

• Superalloy turbine disks are critical aircraft components.
• Diffusion bonding defects can compromise structural integrity.
• Existing inspection methods may struggle with complex geometries.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a novel dual array inspection method for detecting diffusion bonding defects in superalloy turbine disks.
• To analyze the influence of defect position on acoustic detection.
• To develop and validate a reliable inspection technique for complex structures.

Main Methods:

• Development of a dual array inspection method.
• Analysis of relative positions between planar defects and acoustic sources.
• Investigation of time delay laws for dual array transducers in complex structures.
• Establishment of a numerical model using finite-difference time-domain theory.
• Experimental verification of numerical simulations.

Main Results:

• A novel dual array inspection method was successfully proposed and modeled.
• Numerical simulations demonstrated the method's effectiveness on specimens with prefabricated defects.
• Experimental results validated the simulation's reliability.
• The method proved adept at detecting small diffusion bonding defects in intricate designs.

Conclusions:

• The proposed dual array inspection method is reliable for detecting diffusion bonding defects in superalloy turbine disks.
• This technique aids in the manufacturing of superalloy turbine disks.
• The method contributes to ensuring aircraft safety through improved defect detection.