Apparatus for inspecting a tube
AssigneeThe Boeing Company
InventorsBarry A. Fetzer, Navpreet S. Grewal, Peter Kuk-kyung Hwang, William R. Schell, Kate Brown Boudreau
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Abstract
An apparatus for inspecting a tubular workpiece may include a probe assembly and a rotation mechanism. The probe assembly may include a transducer array positionable adjacent to an inner surface of the tubular workpiece. The probe assembly may generate transmitted sound waves and may receive reflected sound waves. The rotation mechanism may rotate the probe assembly relative to the tubular workpiece in a manner such that the transducer array passes over the inner surface in a circumferential direction during transmission of the transmitted sound waves.
Claims20
An apparatus for inspecting the integrity of a swage joint of a tubular workpiece, comprising:
- a probe assembly having a transducer array positionable adjacent to an inner surface of a tubular workpiece having a tube end, the transducer array being configured to generate transmitted sound waves toward the inner surface and receive reflected sound waves;
- a rotation mechanism configured to rotate the probe assembly about a rotational axis relative to the tubular workpiece in a manner such that the transducer array passes over the inner surface in a circumferential direction during transmission of the transmitted sound waves;
- and
- the probe assembly configured to measure, during rotation of the probe assembly and transmission of the sound waves, a change in diameter of the inner surface of the tube end along an axial direction to verify the integrity of the swage joint.
An apparatus for inspecting the integrity of a swage joint of a tubular workpiece, comprising:
- a probe assembly having a transducer array positionable adjacent to an inner surface of a tube end of a tubular workpiece having a tube end, the transducer array being configured to generate transmitted sound waves toward the inner surface and receive reflected sound waves;
- and
- a rotation mechanism configured to rotate the probe assembly about a rotational axis relative to the tubular workpiece in a manner such that the transducer array passes over the inner surface in a circumferential direction during transmission of the transmitted sound waves;
- a container configured to contain a liquid and being sized and configured to immerse the probe assembly and the tube end in the liquid during rotation of the probe assembly relative to the tubular workpiece;
- and
- the probe assembly configured to measure, during rotation of the probe assembly and transmission of the sound waves, a change in diameter of the inner surface of the tube end along an axial direction to verify the integrity of the swage joint.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.