TOMSK, Sept 22 – RIA Tomsk. Scientists of Tomsk Polytechnic University (TPU) will finish tests of the thermal defectoscope developed by them which is intended for search of damages in plane designs at a stage of production and operation in 2016, the head of the laboratory of thermal control methods of the higher education institution Vladimir Vavilov told.
According to him, polytechnicians develop an infrared thermographic method of nondestructive control of defects in the composite materials used in the aerospace industry. The shock damages appearing from blows of subjects (birds, baggage, tools) in plane panels can be such defects.
"The essence of the method which is also called thermal control consists in pulse heating of a surface of objects of control and registration of its dynamic temperature field. The latent defects possess thermophysical properties, other than the main material, and are shown in the form of local thermal anomalies of superficial temperature which are fixed in the form of color thermal imaging", – Vavilov explained.
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In comparison with ultrasonic, radiation and other control methods which are actively applied now, thermal control allows to control specific defects of composites in the contactless way and with high efficiency. For example, the infrared method is used for detection of the hidden water in honeycombs and shock damages in panels in plane designs.
"Works on creation of the pilot equipment of thermal control, first of all, in interests of domestic aircraft were begun in the higher education institution. It is planned to finish tests of the thermal defectoscope in 2016 which is supposed to be introduced in the Russian aerospace branch", – the scientist noted.
He explained that the financial support to the project is given by TPU and a number of the industrial enterprises. "And, unfortunately, the interest of foreign aircraft manufacturing firms in introduction of thermal control is higher, than domestic. Infrared control becomes more and more popular abroad. Thus the laboratory of thermal control of TPU is world's leading on development of the theory and technologies of the method", – he summarized.
The founded in 1896 Tomsk Polytechnic University is the oldest technical college in Asian part of Russia. According to the last national rating researches, the higher education institution is included in the first top ten higher education institutions of Russia. There are 11 scientific and educational institutes, 97 departments as a part of higher education institution. The university trained over 160 thousand experts for more than century history.