Olympus introduces a comprehensive inspection solution for corners and curved areas in laminate composite parts used in the aerospace industry

Olympus, a world leader in nondestructive testing technologies and pioneer in industrial phased array ultrasound, is pleased to introduce a comprehensive inspection solution for laminate composite parts (CFRP) manufactured for the aerospace industry.

The solution comprises the OmniScan® MX Phased Array flaw detector with the 16:128 module, OmniScan MXU software, and a selection of specially designed curved linear phased array probes and immersion corner wedges. In addition, a Mini Wheel encoder allows time or distance based manual scanning.

A major benefit of the OmniScan solution is the ability to scan and inspect the entire corner or radius in one simple pass. The geometry of the phased array probes, typically composed of 16 to 64 elements, allows for the ultrasonic beams to coincide at a 900 angle to the curved surface of the part. The menu-driven software interface of the OmniScan provides multiple amplitude or time-of-flight C-scan mapping for easy interpretation of inspection data.

Olympus offers several dedicated curved phased array probes and holders to meet the challenges of corner inspections including adjustable immersion wedges that are adaptable to a wide range of corner radii. All phased array probes are optimally designed for this application and offer several advantages including acoustic impedance match with water, high circumferential resolution around the radius, and adjustable radius to fit various dimensions and components.

Phased array ultrasound technology offered by Olympus provides fast inspection speed, full coverage in a single scan, excellent probability of detection, and reporting and traceability.