Bladed Rotor Inspection Data Reduction for Defect Assessment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current inspection methods for bladed rotors in gas turbine engines are inefficient and costly, as they require extensive manual analysis and conservative estimates to determine acceptable damage and repairs, often involving large data sets that are difficult to transfer and analyze accurately.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that utilize a processor to receive scanner data, generate section files from point clouds, determine defects, and assess whether they meet serviceable limits, allowing for the transmission of relevant data to an analysis system for quicker and more accurate repair blend profile determination, reducing data size by up to 100 times.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If conventional inspection methods are used to determine acceptable damage and repairs, then analysis accuracy is maintained through manual analysis and conservative estimates, but inspection time and cost increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual mechanical analysis processes with automated computer-based analysis systems. The system automatically processes inspection data, performs defect characterization, and determines repair acceptability without manual intervention, thereby reducing inspection time while maintaining accuracy through consistent algorithmic evaluation rather than variable human judgment.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameters of the analysis process by implementing standardized evaluation criteria and automated algorithms. Instead of variable manual analysis, the system uses fixed, reproducible parameters for defect measurement and repair assessment, enabling faster processing while ensuring consistent accuracy across all inspections.
2Loss of information
If large data sets from inspection systems are transferred for analysis, then complete inspection information is available, but data transfer and processing become difficult and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the essential defect-related information from the complete inspection data set. The system identifies and isolates specific defect characteristics and relevant geometric parameters, transferring only this extracted information to the analysis system. This maintains the necessary inspection information for accurate assessment while dramatically reducing data transfer time and processing burden.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the large inspection data set into manageable portions, separating defect information from other inspection data. By dividing the data into relevant defect characteristics and unrelated geometric information, the system transfers only the necessary segments for repair analysis, reducing overall data transfer time while preserving complete defect information.
Data Source
AI summary
A method can comprise: receiving, via a processor, scanner data from an inspection system for a bladed rotor, the scanner data including a point cloud defining an inspected bladed rotor, the scanner data including a first data size; generating, via the processor, a data set including section files spaced apart along a span of a blade based on the point cloud; determining, via the processor, a defect on the blade of the inspected bladed rotor based on the data set; and determining whether the defect meets serviceable limits.