Start-up tests aircraft components without contact

It happens that airplanes collide with birds in the air. Such a crash usually ends fatally for the birds. But planes can also be damaged. And it’s not necessarily visible. For example, fiber composite structures can delaminate beneath the surface, compromising the mechanical strength of critical parts of the aircraft. The Wels start-up voidsy has a compact gauge developed to quickly detect such damage.

With measurements from 420x270x130 Millimeter and weighing less than 5 Kilograms it is also very compact. “It can be transported by examiners in a trolley and carried in hand luggage,” says Holger Placewho co-founded the start-up Gunther Mayr, Gernot Mayr and Gregor Thummerer established last year.

contactless

Because in material and component testing die Active Thermography is used, the test procedure works without contact. Light is radiated onto a component and the surface temperature is measured. With a defect-free component, the heat flows evenly into the interior. If the material shows a defect, heat builds up. The results of the temperature measurement are converted mathematically in such a way that a three-dimensional representation of the defect can be modeled, resulting in the thermal tomography.

The blurriness increases with increasing depth, says Plasser. However, because information can be extracted from the noise, the method can be used to 1.5 centimeters Make deep statements about the condition of the materials. Compared to other thermographic methods, the start-up was able to increase the accuracy by Factor 2 improve.

In contrast to the ultrasonic methods commonly used in component and material testing, which are also not contactless, the thermography solution does not require a coupling medium such as gel or water.

From airplane wings to bicycle frames

The method is to be used in the Aerospace, for inspections and for quality checks in production. The solution can also be used to determine the porosity of materials, says Plasser. There is also interest from Automotivebranche as well as the sports and leisure area. Plasser explains that the measuring device will be used there to carry out quality checks on injection-moulded, short-fiber-reinforced plastic bicycle frames or to check the impact on boat hulls or jet skis.

A prototype of the measuring device has been in use at pilot customers since the end of December. Together with them, it should be brought to series production. “We deal intensively with the requirements of the companies and want to incorporate the feedback into the product,” says Plasser. 2025 the measuring device should finally come onto the market. Until then, according to the founder, the software of the solution must also be improved.

Also with manufacturers of automated testing technology the start-up works together. The device can be attached to a robot, for example, which scans large components, such as aircraft wings, and then assembles the resulting images. According to Plasser, the modular integration into existing testing devices and the joint sale is a “door opener” in the industry.

The start-up is already generating initial sales from the pilot customer processes. It was financed by the founders’ own contributions and subsidies from the development bank Austria Wirtschaftsservice (aws).

This article was created as part of a cooperation between futurezone and Austria Wirtschaftsservice (aws).