ABSTRACT

Detection of corrosion damage in aircraft wing skin structures is

an ongoing NDT challenge. Ultrasonic methods are known and wellaccepted techniques, which are relatively simple to carry out in terms of
setup, probes and instrumentation and operator training. However, with
conventional inspection from the top surface using a transducer at normal
incidence (0o to the normal to the surface) producing a visual picture in
the form of a C-scan, it is very time consuming to carry out point-bypoint inspection of large aircraft wing skin areas. In addition it is too
difficult to detect disbonds in thin multilayered and fatigue cracks in the
shadow region at fastener holes in airframe structures where water and
humidity then are infiltrated to create corrosion and exfoliation around
and under the rivets. Ultrasonic guided waves demonstrate potential as
promising, global and fast inspection method. It can be used to
compliment and in some cases, be an alternative to conventional
ultrasonic C-scan inspection method.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

SR. NO.

TITLE

PAGE NO.

1
1.1

Introduction
Non destructive test.

4
5

2.

CORROSION DETECTION WITH GUIDED WAVES.

3.

EQUIPMENT AND INSTRUMENTATION.

4.

INSPECTION RESULTS.
Single layer corrosion.
Corrosion detection in lap joint.
Corrosion detection under fasteners of wing
skin structure.

11
11
12
15

4.1
4.2
4.3
5

ADVANTAGES & DISADVANTAGES

18

6.

CONCLUSION.

19

REFERENCES

21

LIST OF FIGURES
FIG.NO.
2.1
3.1
4.1
4.2.1
4.2.2
4.2.3
4.3.1
4.3.2
4.3.3

TITLE
Transmission results from corroded and non
corroded area.
Guided wave testing system.
Single layer corrosion results.
Inspected specimen for lap joint corrosion.
Scaning results for lap joint.
Transmitted waves from corroded region.
Exfoliation at fasteners.
Inspection of fasteners with guided wave.
Guided wave scan result.

PAGE NO.
8
10
13
14
15
15
17
17
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1. INTRODUCTION
The problem of detecting internal defects in composite materials have
received great attention in recent years both for quality control during
production phases and for inservice inspection during maintenance operation.
The use of non destructive techniques is necessary for the analysis of internal
properties of structure without causing damage to the materials. Some of these
NDT&E techniques are based on analysis of transmission of different signals
such as ultrasonics. In last decade ultrasonic techniques have shown to be very
promising for non-destructive inspection and they are becoming an effective
alternative to such traditional and well studied approaches as thermography,
eddy current , and shearography.[4]
Corrosion is one of the serious problem affecting airforce and other
aviation industries. It affects the aircraft on its wings, surface, between joints
and fasteners. The presences of corrosion underneath the paints of surface
and between joints are not easy to be detected. The unnoticed presence of
corrosion may cause the aircraft to crash leading to human and money loses.
To detect the corrosion present on the metal surface, various methods and
tests are used. These tests conducted should be such that it does not destroy

or disassemble the plane to parts or damage its surface. Hence for the further
use of the plane, Non-destructive tests (NDT) are carried out.
1.1 NON-DESTRUCTIVE TESTS
Non-destructive testing as the name suggests is testing procedure
without any damage to the part being tested. The various non-destructive
testing methods used are:
1) Visual inspection
2) X-ray inspection
3) Die (liquid) penetration inspection
4) Magnetic particle inspection
5) Eddy current inspection
6) Ultrasonic inspection
Ultrasonic inspection is conventionally used for corrosion detection in
aircraft wings. But the conventional inspection method carries with it certain
defects like:
(i) It scans perpendicular to the surface and hence rate of scanning
(from point to point) is less and hence highly time consuming.
(ii) Conventional method is not capable of detecting disbonds between
layers and cracks at fastener holes.
These defects are over come by a newly developed inspection method
using guided ultrasonic waves.
Guided waves demonstrate an attractive solution where conventional
ultrasonic inspection techniques are less sensitive to defects such as
corrosion/disbonds in thin multilayered wing skin structures and hidden
exfoliation under wing skin fasteners. Moreover, with their multimode
character, selection of guided wave modes can be optimized for detection of
particular types of defects. Mode optimization can be done by selecting
modes with maximum group velocities (minimum dispersion), or analysis of
their wave mode structures (particle displacements, stresses and power
distributions). Guided Lamb modes have been used for long-range/large area
corrosion detection and the evaluation of adhesively bonded structures.
Ultrasonic guided waves are promising but require procedure development to
4

ensure high sensitivity and reliable transducer coupling and to provide a

mechanism to transport the probe(s) over the area to be scanned. This paper
describes some practical inspection setups and procedures based on guided
wave modes for corrosion damage detection in single and multilayered wing
skin structures and exfoliation detection immediately adjacent to fasteners in
aircraft wing skin. It describes the results of their application to detection of
corrosion in simulated and real components of aircraft wing skin. Using a
tone-burst system, the wave modes are selected, excited and tested in
pulse-echo and pitch-catch setups. Launch angles were obtained from the
calculated dispersion curves. Theoretical group velocities were compared to
tested group velocities to confirm the excited modes at frequency-thickness
product and launch angle. The simulated corrosion in single and multilayered
wing skin structures and exfoliation located under several rivets was
successfully detected. Some guided Lamb modes proved to be more sensitive
to corrosion type defects and produced better results.

2. CORROSION DETECTION WITH GUIDED

WAVES
Guided Lamb modes are dispersive waves and their velocities are a
function of the frequency thickness product. Therefore, any material changes
such as corrosion/exfoliation or lack of adhesion between two layers will
affect the propagating mode amplitude, velocity, frequency spectrum and
its time-of-flight.
RF waveforms from guided modes going through a corroded area have
a relatively low transmitted signal amplitude and time-of-flight shift, while
noncorroded areas are associated with stable time-of-flight and high received
signal amplitude.
Inspection of lap splice joint with guided waves in a pitch-catch setup
permits a selected guided wave mode to travel from the sender toward the
receiver probe, producing relatively low amplitude RF signal when corrosion
exists between the two bonded parts. Otherwise, if there is no corrosion, the
excited mode will leak into the second joint producing relatively high
amplitude RF signal (Figure 1). In a pulse echo setup, a low RF signal is
obtained in the presence of corrosion and high RF signal is obtained for
absence of corrosion.
Fatigue cracks and exfoliation under the shadow of fastener heads in
aircraft skin structures can be detected using ultrasonic guided waves. Guided
modes are selected and launched from outside the exfoliated and hidden area
to interrogate the interested rivets. In pulse-echo setup, the received mode

associated with RF signals includes indications and reflections from

exfoliation. [1]

3. EQUIPMENT AND INSTRUMENTATION

As part of Tektrend's research program on the study of NDI reliability and its
implementation, a series of experiments have been carried out using simulated and real
specimens to determine the reliability of three NDE techniques for disbond, corrosion and
exfoliation detection in aircraft structures. Corrosion levels in the specimens then were
characterized by these multiple NDI techniques. Specimens with real and simulated
defects were provided to us by National Research Council Canada's Institute for
Aerospace Research (IAR/NRC) and ARINC Inc Oklahoma city as part of mutual
evaluation and research work.

The system used in our experimentation is Tektrend's PANDA

Guided Wave System (Figure 2). The new PANDA Guided Wave System
unit is an advanced modular and portable automated scanning system. It can
be configured for conventional UT and ET transducer positioning, providing
C-scan images. The PANDA can be configured for guided wave inspection,
providing cost effective, practical nondestructive evaluation.
The PANDA Automated Scanning System is self-contained in a single
unit in which all the electronic boards are mounted in the system computer
workstation. It offers advanced analysis and interpretation capabilities, where
intelligent scans can be performed with a pre-designed intelligent classifier.
The system contains tools to tag signals for export to an integrated pattern
recognition package. The positioning control, ultrasonic control, data
acquisition, displays and analysis software are all integrated into a single
software package, ARIUS IV.

Figure 3.1. Guided wave testing system

The Guided Wave System is hosted on flexible rail to allow scanning
of curved surfaces and to enable complete automation of the ultrasonic field
inspection. An adaptable spring-loaded piston design for holding transducers
is mounted on the Y-axis scanning arm, which moves on the X- axis. The
system is fitted to the inspected surface with a vacuum control system. The
PANDA Arm can operate in vertical and horizontal orientations and scan
contoured and edged surfaces. Measurement can be made in pulse-echo as
well as pitch-catch modes with piezoelectric transducer probes (optional with
EMAT probes) with 0.005 and 0.002 inch maximum scanning accuracy and
resolution with a maximum scanning rate of 6 inches/second at maximum
resolution. The transducer probes are driven by a tone-burst pulser to excite
narrow-band guided wave modes and to provide high power to launch the
wave over long distances. With tone-burst excitation, the operating frequency
and the pulse characteristics of the transmitter can be controlled in a
repeatable manner. [2]

4. INSPECTION RESULTS

Delectability of corrosion in aircraft wing skins was investigated for

three cases. Single layer corrosion using controlled thinning areas, two layers
corrosion detection in lap splice joints and corrosion detection under
fasteners of wing skin structures. Tests were performed using three aluminum
specimens with different types of simulated corrosion.

4.1 Single Layer corrosion using controlled thinning areas:

The first specimen represented 460x405x I mm aluminum plate with
controlled thinning in designated areas. To demonstrate the sensibility of the
excited wave modes, corrosions were induced in three places with different
levels of thinning (10%, 15% and 25%). Measurements were made using the
pitch-catch setup which consisted of two variable angle broadband
transducers with central frequencies at 3.5 MHz, one of the transducers acts
as transmitter used to generate the guided wave mode and the other one was
used to receive the generated mode and its interaction with the corroded
structure.
The first set of tests demonstrates detectability of the open corrosion
on the aluminum plate using the pitch catch setup with piezo-composite
transducers to generate the A1 mode at 2.2 MHz with an incident angle of
200. Figures 3 b, 3 c and 3 d show the RF waveforms obtained with
transducers positioned perpendicular to the corroded areas (three locations),
while Figure 3a shows RF waveform obtained with transducers perpendicular
to the noncorroded area.
A1 guided mode signals passing through the corroded area have a
transmitted signal low amplitude and higher time-of-flight which is
consistent with theoretically calculated group velocity dispersion curves,
while signals from the noncorroded area are associated with stable
time-of-flight and high received signal amplitude. Therefore, wave
propagation behavior in corroded areas allows estimation of the percentage
of the corrosion material loss. Mode selection and optimization can improve
the resolution of material loss estimation.

10

Figure 4.1.1. a) noncorroded area b) corroded area c) corroded area d)

corroded area

4.2 Corrosion detection in lap joints

Lap joints commonly found in aircraft industry can easily be tested
with guided waves. By using through transmission the ultrasonic guided
wave travel across the joint. A guided wave is genrated by a transduser
mounted on one of the plate. The wave then leaks into the bond and passes
on to the other plate where it is received by other transducer. The amount of
energy that leaks into the bond can be controlled. Since the guided wave is
composed of both in and out of plane modes, the test is very sensitive to
adhesion problems. If the quality of the bond is very poor, very little or no
energy will leak into the bond resulting in low amplitude signal.
Tests were also carried out on 406x322x1.0 mm lap joint (Figure 4).
The width of the bonded area was 68.5 mm. The lap Joint was assembled and
subjected to accelerated corrosion in a salt fog chamber.

11

Guided wave inspection was performed on the lap joint specimen and
inspection results were evaluated in terms of the sensitivity and repeatability.
Scanning was carried out over the sample illustrated in Figure 4 along the
X-direction using two transducers in the pitch-catch setup to excite the S0
mode at 1.5 MHz.
The corroded area between the second and the first aluminum layers,
created a disbond and permitted bad transmission of the generated mode
from the sender toward the receiver without any energy leakage in the
additional bonded aluminum layer. In the noncorroded area, there was a good
bond between the second and the first layer; therefore, the transmitted signal
amplitude was attenuated due to leakage of the transmitted energy into the
second layer.

4.2.3 transmitted waves from corroded and non-corroded

region
12

Figure 5 a shows single line modified C-scan results of this inspection

and presents a series of signals in three-dimensional format. Transducer
displacement

(X-direction),

time-of-flight

(Y-direction)

and

signal

amplitudes (Z-direction). The well-bonded (non-corroded) areas are

characterized by high amplitude signals (signals indicated by red colour).
Poorly bonded areas (caused by corrosion) resulted in a reduction of
amplitude of the received signals as shown by the low amplitude echoes at
both ends of the specimen. The high and low amplitude signals are
represented by the lighter and heavier colors, respectively. The interruptions
between signals in Figure 5a-are due to the presence of rivets. To verify the
guided wave results, these specimens were also inspected using, an
eddy-current technique as well as an enhanced optical technique (D-Sight).
Corrosion was detected in the two ends of the specimen by both techniques
as shown in Figure 5b and 5c. The red and orange colors in the eddy current
image show areas of severe corrosion while the green and blue represent
areas having very light corrosion. In the D-Sight image, the existence of
corrosion is inferred by the presence of waviness (pillowing) between the
rivets, which is Caused by the formation of corrosion products (aluminum
oxide and hydroxide) at the interface between the two plates.[2][3]

13

4.3 Corrosion detection under fasteners of wing skin structures

The third series of tests were performed on fasteners of wing skin
structures to detect corrosion damage immediately adjacent to the fastener
holes in airframe structures as shown in Figure 6. Fatigue cracks commonly
initiate at fasteners since high stresses around it are created. Water and
humidity then are infiltrated to create exfoliation and corrosion around and
under the rivets. As the guided waves penetrate within and beyond the region
of the fastener head, ultrasonic energy is reflected from discontinuities
(corrosion, mechanical damage) present in the region of interrogation.

In this test, once again, a linear manual guided wave scan was
performed by moving a single transducer in a pulse-echo mode at 3.5 MHz
with in incident angle of 370 along the specimen in the Y-direction parallel to
the fastener row at a distance varying from 0.1 to 0.5 from the line of holes
(Figure 7). The displacement of the wedge/transducer assembly was
performed using the PANDA automated scanner shown in Figure 3 which
encoded position in both the x and y directions. One full RF waveform was
acquired at every 0.12mm along the scan path. The RF waveform was
digitized at 100 MHz and contained 2048 points. The acquired signals were
averaged and filtered and all the data for each scan were saved in a file for
later retrieval and analysis.

14

Figure 4.3.2 shows single line of scan results of this inspection. The image is
color-coded according to the reflected amplitude (ultrasonic energy); i.e.,
blue corresponds to minimum reflected energy and white to maximum
(Figure 4.3.3). The time scale increases vertically from top to bottom and the
horizontal scale corresponds to the scan displacement at an increment.
The reflected energy front the left-hand Cluster shows a trail of small
reflections on both the left and right of the fastener. These regions are
indicated in boxes in Figure 8. These reflection trails are clearly
distinguishable from the indication of a defect-free cluster shown on the right
in Figure 8. Interpretation of the fastener hole integrity is based on the
presence of a trailing shadow below the fasteners on either side of the main
reflection. Although the exfoliation reflectors are more diffuse than the
discrete reflectors provided by crack-like defects, the indications are clear.

15

Performance and repeatability tests were performed on similar

specimens. The initial inspection and immediate interpretation provided 46%
identification rate of all defects in the 15"x12"x0.2 specimens (68% If we
include the possible defects) with two false calls. Based on the experience
obtained during Inspection Sessions, a subsequent interpretation session gave
a detectability score of 90% with 5 false calls. The false calls were
subsequently attributed to coupling inconsistencies and possibly stray signals
produced by the presence of the stringer attached to the specimen.

ADVANTAGES
16

1] Fast and effective inspection method.

2] Applicable to any shaped surface.
3] Can detect large extend of corrosion.
4] Has greater accuracy than other non destructive methods in
determining the depth of internal flaws.
DISADVANTAGES
1] Requires sensitive and reliable transducer which increases the cost.
2] Cannot be applied to thicker surfaces as transmission does not take
place properly.
3] Requires very skilled labour.

5. CONCLUSION

17

A practical inspection procedure was demonstrated using guided

waves for fast and effective inspection to detect and locate defects in layered
aircraft structures. Lamb wave inspection can be carried out either by using
two probes in pitch-catch or one probe in pulse-echo configurations. It can
detect corrosion in lap-splice joints in a single scan and the procedure setup
is suitable for presentation of the results as an image relating the amplitude
and time-of-flight to facilitate interpretation. It has also the capability to
detect the extend of corrosion.
Results from exfoliation under the shadow of fastener heads were
detected using ultrasonic guided waves launched from outside the area with
imaging to assist in interpretation. However, results from thicker tapered
wing skin specimens were not conclusive; the guided wave technique did not
seem to apply appropriately to these samples. It appears that some bulk shear
components dominated the scan results and provided extra reflection from
the countersink and the exfoliation. It also suffers from the drawback of the
need of highly sensitive and reliable transducers.

6. REFERENCES
[1] Review of IAR NDI research in support of ageing aircraft.
Jerzy p.komorowski, David S. forsyth, Charles E .chapman
[2] NDT inspection techniques for corrosion detection of aircraft structures.
M.BRASSARD, A. CHAHBAZ, A. PELLETIER
[3] Ultrasonic guided waves for anomly detection in aircraft components.
Joseph. L. Rose, Luis E. soley
[4] Automatic ultrasonic inspection for internal defect detection.
T.D.Orazio, M.leo, A.Distante, V.pianese

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[5] Ultrasonic guided waves for NDE of Adhesively Bonded Joints in Aging
Aircraft
by J.L.Rose, K.Rajana
[6] Production technology by O.P.khanna

19