Defect Pattern Recognition by Sensor Data Fusion in the "Coin Tap Test"

Huadong Wu, Mel Siegel

The Robotics Institute, SCS Carnegie Mellon University

Conclusion
force-time waveform is a good indicator of whether an impact is appropriate or not it also tells when free-vibration begins free-vibration sound is the best indicator of substrate conditions especially shallow delamination conditions

Introduction
coin-tap test

aircraft skin inspection

Robot-aided Aircraft skin inspection

Navigation Visual Inspection Coin-tap Test Control

Remote Workstation NDI Database Server Statistical Analysis Server

Aircraft Configuration & Condition Server

Network

Physics in Coin-tapping
bell-like resonance vs. typical cointapping:

global vs. local excitation

number of relatively high-Q difficulties in coin-tapping modes

analysis:
how local is suitable?

Prior work in impact & coin-tap test

rigid body mechanics too simple to help
W. Goldsmith laid out the basic analysis using elastic media mechanics (1960)

P. Cawley numerically simulated the process in very simplified settings (1988)

simplified 1st-order model (single-spring model) most widely used

Simplified 1st-order model (single-spring model)

m1 T1 k1
m1
Displacement

time

k1

Single-spring model (continued)

impact force

k1
T1

time

Single-Spring Model in Practice (acceleration waves)

Acceleration amplitude (not calibrated)

2.67 kHz

R1 / 3

i 0 Hz 8 kHz i 0 Hz

Spectrum

Spectrum

Time (ms)

A typical acceleration wave form (normal airplane skin, with supported understructure configuration)

Sound data waveform

Sound amplitude

Time (ms)

pro: less sensitive to tap vector con: more sensitive to environment noise

Acceleration-sound amplitude
Sound amplitude

Time(ms) Force amplitude

Time(ms)

acceleration waveform is sensitive to tap variations sound has a clean free-vibration part

Acceleration-sound power spectra

Force spectra db
2.67 kHz

5 kHz

10 kHz

15 kHz

20 kHz

frequency

Sound (whole process) spectra db

2.67 kHz

5 kHz

10 kHz

15 kHz

20 kHz

frequency

db

Sound (free vibration) spectra

2.67 kHz

5 kHz

10 kHz

15 kHz

20 kHz

frequency

Free-vibration sound stronger patterns

What can we discriminate?

Normal skin, unsupported

Normal skin, supported

Patched skin, unsupported

Patched skin, supported

Results (1/3 power ratio)

force
0.395 0.39 0.385 0.38 0.375 0.37 0.365 0.36 0.355 0.35 0.345 0.34

sound

free-vibration

normal, suported normal, unsupported

patched, supported patched, unsupported

Conclusion
force-time waveform is a good indicator of whether an impact is good or not it also tells when free-vibration begins

free-vibration sound is the best indicator of substrate conditions especially shallow delamination conditions

Further research
Scan regions by coin-tapping Apply spatial pattern recognition

Characterize structural condition via transfer function

Robot with sensors

microphone

accelerometer

free-vibration
0.39 0.38 0.37

sound
force

0.36
0.35 0.34

normal, supported normal, unsupported

patched, supported patched, unsupported