Apparatus and method for ultrasonic shear wave inspection

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11442040-B2
Application number	US-202016785019-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 7, 2020
Priority date	Feb 7, 2020
Publication date	Sep 13, 2022
Grant date	Sep 13, 2022

Abstract

A shear wave inspection tool has a housing with a rotatable top removably fixable over a fastener hole in a structure. An aperture is positioned through the rotatable top and operable to couple an ultrasonic transducer such that when rotatable top is rotated, the ultrasonic transducer transmits a shear wave into the structure around the fastener hole inspecting the fastener hole for an anomaly. A shear wave inspection system includes the inspection tool, an ultrasonic transducer, an ultrasonic data instrument operable to acquire data from the ultrasonic transducer, the nature of the received data indicates the presence of an anomaly in the fastener hole. A method for detecting anomalies in a fastener hole includes removably fixing the inspection tool over a fastener hole and rotating the rotatable top such that the ultrasonic transducer transmits a shear wave in a controlled sweep around the fastener hole.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A shear wave inspection tool, comprising:
a housing having a rotatable top, the housing adapted to be removably fixable in a position over a fastening hole in a structure, the rotatable top being rotatable about an axis that is perpendicular to the structure; and
an aperture positioned off-center and through a horizontal surface of the rotatable top operable to couple an ultrasonic transducer to the rotatable top such that when the rotatable top is rotated, the ultrasonic transducer transmits a shear wave into the structure around the fastener hole inspecting the fastener hole for an anomaly.

2. The shear wave inspection tool of claim 1 , wherein the rotatable top further comprises an alignment indicator operable to orient a center of the rotatable top with a central axis of the fastener hole.

3. The shear wave inspection tool of claim 2 , wherein the horizontal surface of the rotatable top is transparent.

4. The shear wave inspection tool of claim 1 , wherein the rotatable top comprises a plurality of apertures operable to couple the ultrasonic transducer to the rotatable top, the plurality of apertures positioned at different distances from a center of the rotatable top to accommodate inspection of fastener holes of different sizes.

5. The shear wave inspection tool of claim 4 , wherein the rotatable top is removable from the housing.

6. The shear wave inspection tool of claim 4 , further comprising a plurality of rotatable tops that are replaceable in the housing, each of the plurality of rotatable tops having a different arrangement of the plurality of apertures through the horizontal surface.

7. The shear wave inspection tool of claim 1 , wherein the housing comprises a base assembly that provides a receptacle for the rotatable top, the base assembly having an upper portion that is rotatable.

8. A shear wave inspection tool comprising:
a housing having a rotatable top, the housing adapted to be removably fixable in a position over a fastening hole in a structure, the housing comprising a base assembly that provides a receptacle for the rotatable top, the base assembly having an upper portion that is rotatable, an intermediary support structure operable to support the upper portion, and at least one rotation mechanism adapted to permit rotation of the upper portion relative to the intermediary support structure; and
an aperture positioned off-center and through a horizontal surface of the rotatable top operable to couple an ultrasonic transducer to the rotatable top such that when the rotatable top is rotated, the ultrasonic transducer transmits a shear wave into the structure around the fastener hole inspecting the fastener hole for an anomaly.

9. The shear wave inspection tool of claim 8 , wherein the base assembly further comprises a lower portion and a fastening mechanism operable to fasten the upper portion to the lower portion with the intermediary support structure, the rotation mechanism sandwiched between the upper portion and the lower portion.

10. The shear wave inspection tool of claim 9 , wherein the rotation mechanism comprises ball bearings that travel in a grooved track in the intermediary support structure.

11. The shear wave inspection tool of claim 10 , wherein the intermediary support structure comprises two grooved tracks, one on a top surface of the intermediary support structure and another on a bottom surface of the intermediary support structure.

12. The shear wave inspection tool of claim 9 , wherein the fastening mechanism comprises an interior screw thread positioned on an inner surface of the upper portion and an exterior screw thread positioned on an outer surface of the lower portion, the interior screw thread engageable with the exterior screw thread through the intermediary support structure.

13. The shear wave inspection tool of claim 8 , wherein the intermediary support structure comprises a plurality of suction cups for removably fixing the housing to the structure.

14. A shear wave inspection system, comprising:
the shear wave inspection tool as recited in claim 1 ;
the ultrasonic transducer;
an ultrasonic data instrument operable to acquire data from the ultrasonic transducer and having a display operable to display the data from the ultrasonic transducer to determine when there is an anomaly in the fastener hole; and
a cable connecting the ultrasonic transducer to the ultrasonic data instrument.

15. A method for detecting anomalies in fastener holes, comprising:
inserting an ultrasonic transducer into an aperture through a rotatable top of an inspection tool;
removably fixing the inspection tool in a position over a fastener hole in a structure such that the ultrasonic transducer contacts an outer surface of the structure to be inspected, proximate the fastener hole and the rotatable top is rotatable about an axis that is perpendicular to the structure; and
rotating the rotatable top such that a shear wave emitted from the ultrasonic transducer is transmitted into the structure in a controlled sweep around the fastener hole.

16. The method of claim 15 , further comprising acquiring a reflected shear wave signal from the ultrasonic transducer and displaying an amplitude and time-of-flight of the reflected shear wave signal as it is rotated around the fastener hole.

17. The method of claim 16 , further comprising removing the inspection tool from the structure and removably fixing the inspection tool in a second position above a second hole in the structure.

18. The method of claim 15 , further comprising orienting a center of the rotatable top of the inspection tool with a central axis of the fastener hole.

19. The method of claim 15 , wherein the ultrasonic transducer is coupled with one of a plurality of apertures positioned at different distances from a center of the rotatable top to accommodate inspection of fastener holes of different sizes.

20. The method of claim 19 , wherein the ultrasonic transducer is coupled to one of the plurality of apertures such that a midpoint of the ultrasonic transducer is at least 0.010 inch outside a circumference of the fastener hole.

21. The method of claim 19 , further comprising removing the rotatable top from the inspection tool and replacing the rotatable top with a second rotatable top having a different arrangement of the plurality of apertures.

Assignees

• Boeing Co

Inventors

• Shehab Kareem
• Summers Kate Boudreau
• Rutherford Paul Stanley

Classifications

• G01N2291/0422

  Shear waves, transverse waves, horizontally polarised waves · CPC title

• G01N29/043 Primary

  in the interior, e.g. by shear waves · CPC title

• G01N29/265

  by moving the sensor relative to a stationary material · CPC title

• G01N29/07

  by measuring propagation velocity or propagation time of acoustic waves · CPC title

• G01N2291/0258

  Structural degradation, e.g. fatigue of composites, ageing of oils · CPC title