Joint inspection system and methods of inspecting a joint in a structure
AssigneeThe Boeing Company
InventorBrian Jay Tillotson
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A joint inspection system and methods of inspecting a joint in a structure are presented. In a method, an ion beam is sent, by an ion beam source, into a first surface of the structure to form an acoustic pulse source in the structure at a depth corresponding to a Bragg peak of the ion beam, wherein acoustic pulse source is adjacent to the joint. A travel time and a magnitude of an acoustic pulse generated by the acoustic pulse source is sensed, by an acoustic sensor positioned at a second surface of the structure, to thereby form a response, wherein the joint is between the acoustic pulse source and the second surface.
Claims20
A method of inspecting a joint in a structure, the method comprising:
- sending, by an ion beam source, an ion beam into a first surface of the structure to form an acoustic pulse source in the structure at a depth corresponding to a Bragg peak of the ion beam, wherein the acoustic pulse source is adjacent to the joint;
- sensing, by an acoustic sensor positioned at a second surface of the structure, a travel time and a magnitude of an acoustic pulse generated by the acoustic pulse source to thereby form a response, wherein the joint is between the acoustic pulse source and the second surface;
- and
- identifying an inconsistency in the joint via identifying at least one of the travel time or the magnitude as being outside of an acceptable response.
A joint inspection system comprising:
- an ion beam source directed toward an acoustic sensor and configured to form an acoustic pulse source in a portion of a structure adjacent to a joint at a depth that corresponds to a Bragg peak of an ion beam from the ion beam source, wherein the acoustic sensor is positioned to receive an acoustic pulse formed from energy of the ion beam from the ion beam source;
- and
- a processor configured to identify, based on at least one of a travel time or a magnitude of the acoustic pulse being outside of an acceptable response, an inconsistency in the joint.
A method of inspecting a joint in a structure, the method comprising:
- repeatedly sending ion beams into a first surface of the structure to form acoustic pulse sources within a first portion of the structure on a first side of the joint, such that each acoustic pulse source of the acoustic pulse sources forms respectively at a depth corresponding to a Bragg peak of an ion beam in the ion beams;
- sensing, at a second surface of a second portion of the structure, respectively a travel time and a magnitude of each acoustic pulse generated by the acoustic pulse sources to thereby form responses, wherein the joint is an interface between the first portion and the second portion of the structure;
- and
- determining if an inconsistency is present in the joint based on responses identifying at least one of the travel time or the magnitude of each acoustic pulse being outside of an acceptable response.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.