System and method for engine inspection

#The subject matter disclosed herein relates to a system and method for borescope engine inspection.

#Certain engines (e.g., gas turbine engines) include one or more components (e.g., a turbine) having viewing ports configured to allow monitoring of various features within the component. For example, a pyrometry system may be in optical communication with one of the viewing ports and may be configured to measure the temperature of certain components within a hot gas path of the engine. Additionally or alternatively, an optical imaging and processing system may be temporarily coupled to one of the viewing ports and used to periodically inspect the engine component for defects. Unfortunately, use of the optical imaging and processing system often requires that the engine be taken out of operation during the inspection period. To reduce the inspection period, only partial portions of the engine may be analyzed. Further, defects are often measured manually while the engine is offline. Thus, the inspection period is lengthy and may produce only partial, or locally uncorroborated, results.

#In one embodiment, an optical imaging and processing system includes an optical connection and an optical element disposed at a first end of the optical connection. The first end of the optical connection is configured to extend into a turbine component interior such that the optical element is disposed within the turbine component interior. The system also includes a photodiode array disposed at a second end of the optical connection, where the optical element is configured to transmit a video stream of the turbine component interior to the photodiode array as the optical element is moved within the turbine component interior between multiple vantage points. The system also includes a processor coupled to the photodiode array, wherein the processor is configured to process the video stream to generate a three-dimensional model of at least a portion of the turbine component interior without utilizing a previously defined three-dimensional CAD model input of the turbine component interior.

#These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present disclosure will become better understood when the following detailed description is read with reference to the accompanying drawings in which like characters represent like parts throughout the drawings, wherein:

#FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a turbine system including an optical imaging and processing system and image processing unit;

#FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of an exemplary turbine section, along with the optical imaging and processing system and image processing unit of FIG. 1;

#One or more specific embodiments will be described below. In an effort to provide a concise description of these embodiments, all features of an actual implementation may not be described in the specification. It should be appreciated that in the development of any such actual implementation, as in any engineering or design project, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be made to achieve the developers' specific goals, such as compliance with system-related and business-related constraints, which may vary from one implementation to another. Moreover, it should be appreciated that such a development effort might be complex and time consuming, but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking of design, fabrication, and manufacture for those of ordinary skill having the benefit of this disclosure.

#When introducing elements of various embodiments disclosed herein, the articles “a,” “an,” “the,” and “said” are intended to mean that there are one or more of the elements. The terms “comprising,” “including,” and “having” are intended to be inclusive and mean that there may be additional elements other than the listed elements.

#Embodiments disclosed herein may enhance inspection of engine components (e.g., turbine components) by providing an optical imaging and processing system capable of capturing a video stream of the turbine component(s) and processing the video stream to generate a three-dimensional (3D) model of the turbine component(s), for example, without the assistance of a pre-defined 3D CAD model input (although, in some embodiments, a 3D CAD model may be used to refine the generated 3D model into a refined 3D model). In one embodiment, the optical imaging and processing system is configured to optically communicate with (e.g., capture video of) an interior of a turbine. For example, the optical imaging and processing system includes a lens, camera, or prism configured to be inserted into the interior of the turbine through a viewing port. The lens may be coupled to an optical connection that extends from the lens to a component of the optical imaging and processing system external to the turbine's interior, where the optical connection may be enveloped by or include a rigid or flexible shaft or coating for protecting the optical connection from objects external to the turbine's interior. The lens is coupled to the optical connection and may also be physically coupled to the shaft, for example, at one or more connection points along a perimeter of the lens, or at some other connection point. The shaft or coating may be coupled on one end to the lens and on an opposing end to an array (e.g., an imaging or photodiode array) configured, for example, to at least temporarily store the video stream transmitted from the lens, through the optical connection, and to the imaging array. In other words, the optical connection may extend from the lens to the array, such that video may be transmitted to the array via the optical connection.