inspection & monitoring
“Rolls-Royce approach us with
interesting problems that
require creative solutions”
strands as possible to guarantee image
quality. At the same time the wall
thickness has to be sufficiently thick to
withstand the high temperatures. A
3D-printed material with a lattice
microstructure through which a
refrigerant is used to chill the instrument
was used for the walls of the probe.
However, to improve the resolution of
the image and detect damage to turbine
blades as early as possible, the second
version of the probe is using glass optics.
Gameros-Mardigel says, “Now we are
attempting to develop an endoscope
which uses glass lenses able to survive a
flight environment. What makes it really
tough is that as the endoscope deploys it
extends, changing the focus.”
The “actuated CCTV concept” uses a
complex system of lenses above the
deployable part of the endoscope to
compensate as it deploys. These lenses are
controlled by integral electronics.
In addition to the small size of the
endoscope, the materials and operating environment, the
complex optics and control software, the project will also
see artificial intelligence algorithms developed to
automatically detect defects in the turbine blades.
WALKING HEXAPOD
If the Inspect research project is the most technically
complex, the most overtly futuristic-looking project at
the UTC is the walking hexapod, which combines the
snake arm with a walking robot. The robot is the
evolution of a portable-machine-tool concept originally
developed several years ago.
The original hexapod consists of a fixed platform
with six legs that attaches to the surface you want to
machine using electromagnets. Once attached,
calibration takes around 10 minutes and is achieved via
three sensors in three of the legs. This process gives the
machine knowledge of the geometry of the surface it is
working on.
Originally developed to carry our repairs on
submarines, some drawbacks became apparent when it
was used. Researcher Matteo Russo says, “A person has to
be at the location and the sensors it used couldn’t provide
information about its position and orientation.”
82 SEPTEMBER 2019 \\ AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COM
The second-generation hexapod sought to solve these
problems and introduced locomotion to the legs. The
Walkhex uses magnetic feet, motors and a vision system
to move. It also incorporates a version of the snake arm
robot on top which coils and uncoils around a housing
and can be remotely deployed. With the deployable
machine tool situated underneath the main body of the
robot, the device is a multi-functional walking machine
tool that looks like a robot from a video game.
Researcher on the project, Jose Camacho says, “With
this latest version we found that the workspace under the
robot between its legs was too small. For the third
version we are modifying the position of the upper joints
to optimize the size of the workspace and performance.”
The third-generation hexapod being developed now
represents five years of prototyping. Researchers are
focused on developing and testing different systems for
the robot’s legs. A particularly innovative approach,
developed by researcher Nan Ma and undergoing testing,
uses a single motor and wire to adjust the position of the
legs at the base inwards and outwards to adjust the span
of the working space underneath it.
These projects are typical of the automated and
remotely-operated robotic inspection and repair
technologies being developed at the Manufacturing and
On-wing Technology UTC. Axinte says, “What we like is
that Rolls-Royce approach us with interesting problems
that require creative solutions.”
“We have such amazing and diverse talent here,
expert designers, experts in materials, plasma physics,
mechatronics, brilliant control engineers. They are
solving incredibly complex problems and will go on to do
great things in industry and academia.”\\
5 // Rolls-Royce has
donated a Trent 1000 engine
to the UTC at Nottingham
University to help with
research (Photo: Alex
Wilkinson Media)
6 // The engine allows
researchers to develop
ideas from computer
models and calculations to
physical testing
(Photo: Alex Wilkinson
Media)
5
6
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