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A D V A N C E D M A T E R I A L S & P R O C E S S E S | J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 6 1 0 TESTING | CHARACTERIZATION REAL-TIME, AUTOMATED LAYUP INSPECTION TAKES OFF The Defense Logistics Agency AFP layup flaws are displayed against the programmed layup, color-coded by feature type for rapid disposition and rework. Courtesy of Flightware. studying how stress and fatigue cause microscopic damage to form in metal components. That knowledge will then be translated into new tools to detect and monitor crack formation in aircraft components. Funding comes from the U.S. Army Research Office through the Defense University Research Instru- mentation Program (DURIP). The team will conduct testing and

characterization studies to understand andmonitor how tiny cracks are initiated and then grow in metal components as they are subjected to cyclic strains and stresses similar to those that wings, fuse- lages, and other aircraft components experience in service. Using a new imag- ing system, researchers are able to view the initiation and propagation of cracks at the nanometer scale while metal samples are stressed in a servo-hydrau- lic testing machine. As a result of this research, the team aims to develop new lightweight metal alloys that are more resistant to cracking. wpi.edu.

on work previously performed under a development contract with NASA. Using commercial sensors and custom software, AFP layups are scanned and compared with programmed instruc- tions created from the part model. Deviations in excess of allowed toler- ances are automatically detected and presented to operators for repair. The first generation Automated Ply Inspection (API) system consists of hardware and software designed to operate in a secondary inspection step after layup, mimicking today’s human inspection process. Under the DLA pro- gram, API is being modified to work in real time, in parallel with layup being produced by the AFP machine in real time. The new system eliminates the serial inspection step, enabling cost savings on a wide variety of military and civilian aircraft parts. dla.mil. WPI INVESTIGATES AIRCRAFT CRACK FORMATION A research team at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), Mass., is

(DLA) awarded a contract to Flightware Inc., Guilford, Conn., to develop a real- time, automated inspection system for use with Automated Fiber Placement (AFP) equipment that makes large composite parts. The capability allows these machines to operate signifi- cantly faster, enabling cost savings and increased production. Most large and high-rate composite aircraft structures are built using AFP machines. While these machines quickly place material into a mold, the operation is stopped after every ply to allow human inspec- tors to validate the machine layup. This is repeated dozens to hundreds of times for a single part. In many cases, the time to inspect the layup by teams of workers with flashlights is longer than the machine layup time. As a result, machines are only productive less than 30% of the time. Flightware’s Real Time Automated Ply Inspection (RTAPI) program builds

Professor Diana Lados (right) and Ph.D. candidate Anthony Spangenberger an- alyze deformation results from a fatigue damage evaluation test performed on an aircraft aluminum alloy.

BRIEF LECO Corp., St. Joseph, Mich., recently opened its European Appli- cation and Technology Center in Berlin. The facility is equipped with the latest LECO analytical technology, with nearly 25 instruments available for customer demonstrations and application work. The facility also features lecture rooms for training employees and cus- tomers. leco.com.