Surface Wave Defect Detection on Robot Surfaces
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for detecting surface breaking defects in thin-walled structures, such as storage tanks and aircraft fuselages, are inefficient and costly, particularly for large industrial hardware where manual inspection is challenging and may miss buried or reverse face cracks, which can harbor contaminants or pose structural risks.
Innovation Solution
A moving robot equipped with transducers and receivers integrated into wheels or tracks, utilizing surface waves like Rayleigh waves to detect defects by transmitting and receiving ultrasound waves, and employing a vacuum-based adhesion mechanism to climb and inspect surfaces, providing data on defect location, orientation, and size.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If manual inspection methods are used to detect surface defects, then inspection coverage can be achieved, but inspection efficiency is low and productivity is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual mechanical inspection with an automated robotic system that uses surface wave transducers to detect defects. The robot moves along the structure and emits surface waves that reflect off defects, providing automated detection that maintains accuracy while dramatically improving inspection efficiency and productivity.
Solution Approach 2:
The robotic inspection system is self-propelled and autonomously navigates the structure surface using vacuum adhesion and drive mechanisms. The system independently performs the entire inspection process without continuous human intervention, allowing comprehensive coverage of large structures while maintaining high detection accuracy.
2Measurement precision
If eddy current devices are used to probe the structure, then defect detection capability is improved, but device complexity and cost increase due to the need for arrays of devices
Solution Approach 1:
The robotic system uses surface wave transducers that can detect various types of surface defects (cracks, pits, discontinuities) across different locations and orientations with a single device type. This universal detection capability eliminates the need for multiple specialized eddy current devices arranged in arrays, reducing system complexity while maintaining comprehensive defect detection.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent substitutes complex eddy current arrays with a simpler surface wave-based ultrasonic system. The surface waves propagate along the structure surface and interact with defects through reflection, providing equivalent or superior detection capability with significantly reduced device complexity and lower cost.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the robot uses suction devices to adhere to the surface, then mobility on complex surfaces is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The robot uses vacuum suction devices that create adhesive forces between the robot and the structure surface through pressure differentials. This pneumatic adhesion mechanism allows the robot to climb vertical and complex surfaces without mechanical clamps or complex mounting systems, improving adaptability while keeping the device relatively simple.
Solution Approach 2:
The vacuum adhesion system creates a uniform holding force across the robot's contact surface, allowing stable attachment to various surface geometries. By distributing the adhesion force evenly, the system achieves reliable mobility on complex surfaces without requiring complex positioning or adjustment mechanisms.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The robot effectively identifies and characterizes surface defects with high accuracy and efficiency, reducing the need for extensive manual inspection and costly equipment, while maintaining adherence to complex surfaces, thereby ensuring structural integrity and contamination prevention.
Implementation Method 1
The transducer acts to transmit surface waves into the material
Implementation Method 2
surface waves means acoustic waves that generally propagate in the surface of a solid to within a depth of about one wavelength beneath the surface
Implementation Method 3
When encountering a discontinuity in a surface, surface waves such as Rayleigh waves will be at least partially reflected
Implementation Method 4
expel air from between the suction devices and the surface, and then away from the surface without breaking the suction devices from the surface to create a vacuum between the suction devices and the surface
Data Source
Figure 1~3
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AI summary
A moving robot has at least one surface wave transducer or a transmitter and receiver, to identify defects on or in a surface on which the robot moves, and provide data indicative of the location, size and/or orientation of the defects from robot position data.