Scanning Ultrasonic Spectroscopy for Composite Flywheels

摘要

Composite flywheels are being considered as a replacement for chemical batteries aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Due to the serious consequences of a failure in a space environment, extensive testing of the flywheel systems must be conducted prior to flight certification. In addition to standard material testing and characterization, non destructive evaluation (NDE) of the rotors must be preformed to identify processing flaws and to understand the damage progression in a rotor under load. This paper describes the development of a scanning ultrasonic spectroscopy system for the NDE of composite flywheels. Emphasis is placed on the novel resonance spectroscopy method that was investigated and its integration into a scanning system. Results of a scan of a composite ring standard and Plexiglas cylinder with known defects are presented and compared to ultrasonic pulse-echo c-scans.