Thru-bolt Thread Inspection via Composite Imaging
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for inspecting turbine engine rotor thru-bolts and rotor disc cavities require disassembly for comprehensive evaluation, limiting the ability to assess complete circumferential surfaces and interface compatibility without disassembly.
Innovation Solution
A camera inspection system that includes a thru-bolt male threads inspection apparatus and a rotor disc cavity inspection apparatus, allowing for the capture and combination of images to create composite images of thru-bolt threads and disc cavity surfaces without disassembling the rotor structure, using a collar clamp and cameras with data acquisition and image processing systems.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If visual inspection is performed after rotor disassembly, then complete evaluation of thru-bolts and disc cavities is possible, but maintenance downtime increases and rotor structure must be disassembled
Solution Approach 1:
The inspection apparatus is positioned and configured before rotor disassembly occurs. Cameras and lighting systems are pre-installed in the inspection borescope, and the apparatus is ready to capture images of thru-bolts and disc cavities while the rotor remains assembled, enabling inspection to be performed in advance of disassembly operations.
Solution Approach 2:
Physical disassembly operations are replaced by an optical inspection system. Instead of mechanically disassembling the rotor to access thru-bolts and disc cavities, the invention uses cameras, LEDs, and optical pathways to visually inspect these components through specialized access points while the rotor remains assembled, substituting mechanical intervention with optical detection.
2Measurement precision
If rotor disassembly is performed for inspection, then all surfaces can be accessed, but device complexity and disassembly procedures increase
Solution Approach 1:
The inspection function is extracted from the disassembly process. Rather than requiring removal of rotor components to access inspection surfaces, the invention extracts only the necessary visual information through optical pathways and cameras positioned in specialized borescopes, leaving the rotor assembled while still achieving complete surface inspection.
Solution Approach 2:
An optical intermediary system is introduced between the inspector and the inspection targets. Cameras, lenses, and lighting systems serve as intermediaries that transmit visual information from difficult-to-access surfaces (thru-bolt threads, disc cavity walls) to the inspector without requiring physical access or disassembly of the rotor structure.
3Area of stationary object
If traditional inspection methods are used, then simple equipment is required, but complete circumferential surfaces cannot be captured
Solution Approach 1:
The inspection apparatus incorporates rotatable and movable components that enable dynamic positioning of cameras and lighting systems. The ability to rotate and reposition the inspection tools within the borescope allows capture of complete circumferential surfaces of thru-bolts and disc cavities, transforming a static limited-view system into a dynamic comprehensive-inspection system.
Solution Approach 2:
The inspection system transitions from two-dimensional flat imaging to three-dimensional comprehensive surface capture. By incorporating multiple cameras positioned at different angles and utilizing rotatable mechanisms, the system captures circumferential surfaces and creates composite images that represent complete three-dimensional views of the inspection targets.
Data Source
AI summary
Turbine engine rotor corresponding thru-bolts and disc cavities are inspected with a camera inspection system that includes one or both of a thru-bolt male threads inspection apparatus and a rotor disc cavity inspection apparatus. The thru-bolts threads inspection apparatus engages the male threads and advances along the bolt threads pattern, selectively capturing camera images at desired spatial positions along the threads pattern. The plural camera threads images are desirably combined to form a composite image of a desired portion of or the entire thru-bolt male threads profiles, which aids their inspection evaluation and provides an archived composite image of the profiles.