Thermographic Drying Prediction for Aircraft Surface Decontamination
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The challenge in decontaminating aircraft surfaces lies in unpredictably long drying times of decontamination liquids, which affect the effectiveness of surface disinfection, as the drying time depends on various factors and is difficult to determine beforehand.
Innovation Solution
A system and method using a fitted parametric model to predict radiation emitted across a surface over time, allowing for the determination of drying time and thus the decontamination status, by analyzing thermographic images of a test surface with a deposited decontamination agent and applying spatial regularization to estimate model parameters.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a liquid decontamination agent is deposited on the surface, then the surface is decontaminated, but the drying time becomes unpredictable and extends the decontamination process
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by using thermographic imaging to measure the initial state of the surface and predicting the drying trajectory before the actual drying completes. The system captures thermal radiation data at multiple time points during evaporation and uses a fitted parametric model to forecast when the surface will reach the dry state, allowing operators to plan subsequent activities in advance rather than waiting passively for drying to complete.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements feedback by continuously monitoring the thermal radiation emitted by the surface during the drying process using thermographic cameras. The system compares actual thermal measurements against the fitted parametric model predictions, allowing real-time assessment of drying progress and adjustment of decontamination timing decisions based on actual rather than estimated conditions.
2Reliability
If the drying time is extended to ensure complete evaporation, then decontamination completeness is improved, but productivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical/time-based waiting for drying with an optical measurement system. Instead of using chronological time as the proxy for drying completion, the system uses thermographic imaging to directly observe thermal radiation changes, substituting a physical measurement approach for temporal waiting and enabling faster, more accurate determination of decontamination readiness.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter used to determine drying completion from chronological time to thermal radiation intensity. By monitoring the thermal emission parameter rather than elapsed time, the system can accurately determine when evaporation is complete based on physical state changes, allowing optimization of the balance between complete drying and processing throughput.
3Measurement precision
If thermographic imaging is used to monitor drying, then drying time prediction accuracy is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies universality by using thermographic imaging technology that serves multiple functions: it characterizes surface material properties during training, monitors drying progress during operation, and provides data for parametric model fitting. This multi-functional use of a single measurement technology reduces overall system complexity compared to using separate specialized devices for each function.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses copying by creating a parametric model that replicates the complex drying behavior based on thermographic data. Once the model is fitted during training, it can predict drying trajectories without requiring continuous complex computational analysis, effectively copying the physical drying process into a simplified mathematical representation that is easier to implement and interpret.
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
This approach enables accurate prediction of drying time and decontamination status, ensuring effective surface disinfection by deploying a fitted parametric model to predict radiation emission on a working surface, ensuring the surface is decontaminated within a specified time.
Implementation Method 1
the thermographic images having a dot matrix data structure with a matrix of intensity values that describe radiation emitted and thereby indicate temperature across the test surface over time
Implementation Method 2
predict the radiation emitted across a working surface of the material on which the liquid is deposited, the radiation emitted is predicted across the working surface over time
Data Source
AI summary
A method of decontaminating a surface of a material includes obtaining training data including thermographic images of a test surface on which a liquid with a decontamination agent is deposited, the thermographic images including intensity values that describe radiation emitted across the test surface over time. The method includes accessing a parametric model of the radiation emitted as a function of time, and applying a spatial regularization to the parametric model in which parameters of the parametric model are made functions of location across the test surface of the material. The parametric model with the spatial regularization is fit to the training data to produce a fitted parametric model. And the fitted parametric model is deployed to predict the radiation emitted across a working surface on which the liquid is deposited, and decontamination of the working surface is determinable from the radiation emitted as predicted.