Date of Award

12-1992

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Systems Engineering

Department

Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics

First Advisor

Curtis H. Spenny, PhD

Second Advisor

David G. Robinson, PhD

Abstract

The purpose of this design study was to identify ways to improve the Integrated Blade Inspection System. The Air Force requires inspection of jet engine compressor and turbine blades to locate defects and prevent engine failure. The current inspection process uses fluorescent penetrant as an aid to identify cracked blades. A systems engineering design process was applied to evaluate the current inspection techniques and to develop alternative methods to satisfy the Air Force requirements. Three different inspection systems were developed and compared to the current process: manual, semi-automated, and fully automated inspection. This study made several noteworthy contributions: development of classification software to validate the neural network approach for accurate blade classification, demonstration of potential advantages of charge-coupled device cameras for data gathering, quantification of the cost of incorrectly classifying jet engine blades, examination of the value of a statistical quality control plan for the inspection process, and identification of a method using multiple images to extract additional features from cracks. The study demonstrates that the fully automated system could dramatically outperform the manual inspection process by improving the consistency of the inspection process and raising the quality of the blades returned to service.

AFIT Designator

AFIT-GSE-ENY-92D-03

DTIC Accession Number

ADA258912

Comments

The authors' Vita pages are omitted.

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