Microscopic NDE of Hidden Corrosion

James L. Blackshire*, Jochen Hoffmann**, Claudia KropasHughes*, and Ibrahim Tansel***

*Air Force Research Lab (AFRL/MLLP), Wright-Patterson AFB, OH 45433

**University of Dayton, Center for Materials Diagnostics (CMD), Dayton, Ohio 45469-012 1
***Florida International University, Miami, FL 33174

ABSTRACT
The detection and microscopic characterization of hidden corrosion has recently been a focus of several advanced NDE
research efforts. A variety of approaches have been suggested, with laser ultrasonic (LU), scanning acoustic microscopy
(SAM), thermography, and x-ray systems being four of the most promising NDE techniques. In this effort, a side-by-side
comparison of each of these four techniques was conducted with the goal of assessing the detailed microscopic features
of engineered and realistic hidden pitting corrosion reference samples. The reference samples included laser-etched
cutouts and electro-chemically created surface pits ranging in size for 25O.tm to 5mmin surface extent, and depths of
25jim to 1mm. The effects of material loss/topography, corrosion-byproduct, and paint thickness levels were all
addressed. Variations in measurement sensitivity, detectivity, and spatial resolution were studied, with particular
attention being focused on the ability of the NDE technique to not only detect the hidden corrosion, but to provide any
additional information regarding the microscopic nature of the corrosion area, its roughness, material loss levels, and
pitting sharpness. In all cases, the NDE techniques provided an 'image' of the hidden corrosion areas, with some
capability for assessing the internal structures of the pits from the measured signal levels or brightness levels of the
measured image fields.

Keywords: Hidden Corrosion , Laser Ultrasonics, Scanning Acoustic Microscopy, Thermography, Radiography

1. INTRODUCTION

Corrosion maintenance currently costs the U.S. Air Force in excess of $800 million/year to detect and treat'. Much of
this cost is due to scheduled maintenance activities, which often require the stripping of paint from an aircraft, or the
complete disassembly of component parts for inspection. These rather aggressive maintenance procedures are needed,
however, to ensure that hidden corrosion is not present in structural components, which could compromise the structural
integrity of the aircraft if left unchecked. The availability of a quick and reliable nondestructive evaluation (NDE)
technique for detecting and characterizing hidden corrosion under paint would go a long way in reducing some of these
maintenance costs, and ultimately improving flight safety.

A number of advanced NDE techniques have been developed in recent years to detect and characterize hidden corrosion.
The primary goal of these systems was to evaluate an aircraft structure without disassembling the component parts and/or
without stripping the paint away. Advanced pulse eddy current2'3 and superconducting quantum (SQUID)4 NDE systems,
for example, have shown promise in detecting and characterizing hidden corrosion in multi-layered aircraft structures
(e.g. lap-joints). These systems provide imaging capabilities for detecting the corrosion by raster scanning the NDE
probe across the material surface, and have proven to be sensitive and capable of detecting corrosion at significant
depths. They are, however, somewhat limited in their ability to image the corrosion at significant spatial resolutions and
material loss sensitivity levels. It would be desirable, for example, to image hidden corrosion with microscopic precision
if possible, and with material loss sensitivities of 1% or better. The ability to image a relatively large area in full-field
would also represent a significant advance in NDE measurement capabilities, and would save inspection time and money.

Testing, Reliability, and Application of Micro- and Nano-Material Systems, 93

Norbert Meyendorf, George Y. Baaklini, Bernd Michel, Editors, Proceedings of SPIE
Vol. 5045 (2003) © 2003 SPIE · 0277-786X/03/$15.00

Downloaded From: http://proceedings.spiedigitallibrary.org/ on 08/15/2013 Terms of Use: http://spiedl.org/terms

 In this effort, four state-of-the-art NDE systems were evaluated for detecting and characterizing hidden corrosion under
paint with the expressed purpose of imaging hidden corrosion with microscopic resolutions. The goal was to assess the
NDE systems in a side-by-side comparison for the early detection of hidden corrosion. A series of engineered corrosion
standards were used as an absolute metric for comparing the resolving power of each system, and for evaluating each
system's detection sensitivity level. The NDE systems included 1) a traditional scanning acoustic microscope (SAM), 2)
a laser ultrasound detection system, 3) a passive thermography system, and 4) a micro-radiography/tomographic x-ray
system. Each of the systems proved to be capable of detecting and imaging hidden corrosion features under a standard
Air Force 'gray' primer/topcoat paint layer. Significant variations in signal-to-noise ratio, image contrast, and image
resolution levels were observed, however. The measurement results along with the advantages and disadvantages of each
NDE system will be discussed.

2. MICROSCOPIC NDE OF HIDDEN CORROSION

For many years, the nondestructive evaluation (NDE) of structural aircraft components has involved the detection and
characterization of relatively large cracks and corrosion features. Significant advances in the number and quality of NDE
techniques and probes now permits the microscopic evaluation of cracks, corrosion, coating degradation, material
fatigue, and material stress/strain. Competing and complementary NDE technologies are now becoming commonplace,
where just 10-20 years ago there were just the traditional 'five' NDE approaches to choose from (Ultrasonic, Eddy
Current, Magnetic Particle, Liquid Penetrant, and Radiographic). Technological advances have, for example, taken
several of these traditional NDE approaches to a new level of sensitivity and resolution, and have also brought into light
numerous advanced NDE approaches involving entirely new physical measurement concepts.

With respect to hidden corrosion NDE measurements, there are several significant advantages to probing and
characterizing with microscopic precision. If hidden corrosion could be detected and characterized soon enough, it could
be treated and abated long before it became widespread and of structural concern. The ability to quantitatively
characterize, in-detail, the corrosion and its structure would also allow a much better assessment of the impact of the
corrosion on the structure. Increased resolution and sensitivity levels would allow for the detection and tracking of
corrosion at much earlier stages of its development, providing a better assessment of the impact of the corrosion on the
structure. The early stage detection would also permit the potential application of corrosion treatments and inhibitors,
which could provide significant reductions in corrosion maintenance costs.

As a starting point for assessing the current state-of-the-art in NDE technologies for detecting and characterizing hidden
corrosion, four advanced NDE systems were chosen for a side-by-side comparison study, focusing on their ability to
resolve microscopic corrosion features hidden under a simple, yet realistic, paint layer. The NDE techniques included
traditional and advanced ultrasonic NDE, passive thermographic NDE, and micro-radiographic NDE. The traditional
ultrasonic system involved a Scanning Acoustic Microscope (SAM) system in a traditional water immersion tank. This
system was used as a 'baseline' NDE technique, and was used in a c-scan imaging configuration. An advanced laser
ultrasonic detection system was then used to make comparative measurements in a non-contact detection mode.
Thermographic and radiographic measurements were then made. In all cases, a set of corrosion standards were utilized
for side-by-side comparison purposes

2.1 Ultrasonic NDE Tehthques

Ultrasonic NDE is one of the most commonly used and oldest techniques for assessing the structural integrity of a part,
and for detecting cracks and corrosion. It involves the insertion of mechanical vibration energy into a material substrate,
which propagates as elastic waves through the material. The internal structure of the host material can be assessed by
monitoring how the elastic waves propagate through the material, and by characterizing any elastic scattering events that
are caused, for example, by localized cracks and corrosion. Both contact and non-contact approaches have been used to
insert and detect the mechanical energy into the material substrate, with piezo-electric transducers being the
overwhelming source and receiver elements in traditional ultrasonic NDE systems. The laser-based detection of
ultrasonic motions in a material substrate have recently been used to make non-contact measurements through optical
interferometric principles.

94 Proc. of SPIE Vol. 5045

Downloaded From: http://proceedings.spiedigitallibrary.org/ on 08/15/2013 Terms of Use: http://spiedl.org/terms

 2.2 Scanning Acoustic Microscopy (SAM)
Scanning Acoustic Microscopy (SAM) is classically performed by time-of-flight spectroscopy in the pulsed regime5
(Figure la). An electronic clock triggers a signal generator (pulser) to send high frequency voltage to an ultrasonic
transducer at regular time intervals, causing vibrations of its piezoelectric unit. Pulse repetition rate can be as high as
2000 pulses per second. The clock also controls a time measuring circuit that operates simultaneously with the signal
measurement. The transducer generates short, broadband ultrasonic pulses that are sent into the test material6. The
coupling between transducer and sample is achieved by submerging both in a water bath. Since probe and sample are not
in contact, the transducer can be moved with a multi-axis manipulator system (Figure la).

r"""" Pezo&ectrc Transducer .4:::::::::::::::::::... '1ir:uisduccr

4 — itns

Water

21

Tilt 22 Sample flt1!.C 01 optirrud focusing

Table

a. b.
Figure 1 : Schematic of SAM pulse/echo measurement (left), and focusing element (right).

SAM transducers are usually focused, i.e., they include a focusing lens (Figure ib). It is advisable to adjust the
probe/sample-distance such that the sample part of interest (e.g., a sample interface) is at focal length distance. This will
be indicated by maximal reflection since all incident waves are reflected if and only if the reflection occurs at focal
length. It can be important to increase the optimal working distance. Here, a larger probe diameter, combined with a
reduced lens curvature, increases the focal length and can be of advantage. Focused transducers provide improved lateral
resolution. However, the intensity of reflected signals can decrease fast outside focal length distance. Thus, for inspection
of thick material or for detection of deeply located voids, transducers with long focal length are rather suitable. The low
frequency is often necessary to enhance the signal-to-noise ratio, since the waves undergo higher attenuation if they travel
longer distances through the test material. For inspection of surface near material, highly focused transducers are able to
unfold their advantages of improved resolution. High frequencies become possible. They improve both lateral and depth
resolution even further. The smallest possible lateral resolution is equal to the wavelength in the coupling medium
(Figure ib). For example, in the case of water (vL=1500 m/s) and a 50MHz transducer, 30 jim resolution can be
achieved.

2.3 Laser Interferometric Detection of Ultrasound

Optical interferometric systems provide a non-contact alternative for measuring ultrasonic surface motions, and have
been used in a number of different NDE applications7. A typical system using a Mach-Zehnder optical arrangement is
depicted in Figure 2a. The interferometer effectively makes an optical phase comparison between a signal beam and an
internal reference beam. Out-of-plane displacements on a sample surface cause the signal beam to experience a change
in optical path length and instantaneous phase. When the reference and signal beams are recombined, the coherent
addition and interference of the two beams produces an output intensity that varies sinusoidally with the difference in the
optical path lengths traversed by the beams. Ultrasonic surface motions cause the path length difference to vary, and a
corresponding modulation in the output intensity that can be measured with a fast photodetector. An image of the
ultrasonic motions can be created by raster-scanning the laser beam position relative to the material surface (Figure 2b),
where the focused laser spot-size ultimately determines the resolving power of the system (typically 1-5 microns).

Proc. of SPIE Vol. 5045 95

Downloaded From: http://proceedings.spiedigitallibrary.org/ on 08/15/2013 Terms of Use: http://spiedl.org/terms

 [e:r .8e3Th
0

( (
a. b.
Figure 2: Schematic of optical interferometric detection of ultrasound (left), and ultrasonic NDE imaging system (right).

2.4 Passive Thermography NDE

Thermographic imaging is a relatively new NDE technology, that uses thermal differences between a material defect and
its local surroundings as a non-contact and full-field NDE measurement tool. Infrared cameras with higher sensitivities
and resolutions are currently helping to transition the technology from a novelty to a comprehensive and quantitative
NDE measurement tool. As shown in Figure 3a, an embedded defect (corrosion pit or void) has a thermal emissivity that
is different from the substrate material. In a passive thermography measurement the material surface will naturally
radiate, scatter, and reflect infrared energy that can be imaged by the thermal camera. Differences in thermal emissivity
will be imaged as differences in brightness by the camera, allowing corrosion and voids to be detected and characterized.

Radiated Heat
10
Energy
AAAAAAAA A
C
0

Thermal
Emissvty
I:
0
C
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Wavelength (microns)

a. b.
Figure 3: Principle of passive thermographic imaging of hidden corrosion under paint (left), and mid-wave infrared
spectral transmission window for Air Force 'gray' primer and topcoat (right).

In certain instances, the thermographic measurements can be made in a spectral bandpass window that allows the infrared
energy to propagate efficiently through a coating layer to probe the material substrate underneath8. This in fact was the
case for the standard Air Force 'gray' primer/topcoat paint used in this set of studies. Figure 3b depicts the spectral
transmission window for a 3-mil thick paint layer between the 2-12 micron wavelength range, which occurred between
3.5 im arid 5.8 .tm, peaking at 5.2 J.tm. By using a mid-wave infrared camera sensitive to 3-5 micron thermal energies,
and/or using bandpass filters in that wavelength range, the corrosion regions can be imaged directly through the paint.

2.5 Radiographic NDE Techniques

Radiography is another traditional NDE technique that has seen significant technological advances in recent years. These
advances have improved resolution levels9, and can provide fully three-dimensional imaging of materials through
computer tomographic means'°. Although different types and levels of energy beams can be used as a probe source, X-
rays are most often used for most materials. The x-ray energy interacts with the material and primarily provides a
measure of material density in a thru-transmission measurement sense. Subtle variations in material composition can also

96 Proc. of SPIE Vol. 5045

Downloaded From: http://proceedings.spiedigitallibrary.org/ on 08/15/2013 Terms of Use: http://spiedl.org/terms

 be measured by using a dual-energy comparative measurement approach. Hidden corrosion is measured as a change in
the thru-transmission material density level, and basically provides a local measurement of material loss.

3. EXPERIMENTAL TECHNIQUE

A series of engineered corrosion standards were created so that a side-by-side comparison of the four NDE techniques
could be done. The corrosion standards consisted of precision-laser-cut features, and actual pitting corrosion created in
Al-2024-T3 aluminum substrate coupons. The corrosion features were created with variations is surface extent between
50pm to 5mm, and depths ranging from 1O.tm to 1mm. This represented material thickness loss levels ranging from
0.1% to 25%. Images of the hidden corrosion features were then obtained by each of the NDE techniques, and
assessments of the material loss sensitivity, signal-to-noise ratio levels, and resolving powers were made.

3.1 Corrosion Standard Preparation and Characterization

The precision-laser-machined samples were provided by Mound Laser & Photonics Center", and consisted of recessed
triangle cutouts ranging in size from 1mm to 5mm on a side, and 25jim to 1mm in depth. Figure 4 provides a digital
image (left) of one of the samples, along with a detailed topographic measurement (center and right) of one of the
triangle features obtained using a white-light interference microscope system'2. The topographic measurements provided
a detailed and absolute measure of the microscopic features of the defect site, which could later be compared directly to
each of the NDE measurements. The use of a triangle-shaped cutout allowed resolution estimates to be made using the
triangle's sharp-edge features.

Figure 4: Laser-machined triangle sample (left), and topographic measurements of one of the triangles (center and right).

While the laser-machined triangles did provide an approximation of the material loss associated with corrosion, it was
important to work with actual microscopic corrosion sites as well. Corrosion pitting was introduced into aluminum
substrate coupons using a commercial electrochemical treatment system manufactured by Gamry Instruments, Inc'3. A
simple masking procedure (protective tape with a small cutout region) was used to isolate the pit location and to limit its
maximum surface extent. The system allowed a reasonable control over the generation of a variety of pit sizes and depth
in the micron to millimeter range. Figure 5 provides an example of one of the electro-chemically created corrosion pits.

Figure 5: Electro-chemically created corrosion pit (left), along with its topographic measurements (center and right).

Proc. of SPIE Vol. 5045 97

Downloaded From: http://proceedings.spiedigitallibrary.org/ on 08/15/2013 Terms of Use: http://spiedl.org/terms

 After the engineered corrosion samples had been created, they were coated with a standard Air Force 'Gray' primer and
topcoat paint layer. A set of examples for the laser-machined triangle (left images) and electro-chemical pitting
corrosion coupons (right images) is provided in Figure 6 for before- and after-paint coating. The coating layer was 2.5-
3.0 mils thick and had a diffuse, somewhat rough surface character (rms roughness of -4 tim).

Figure 6: Engineered corrosion samples before- and after-paint application. Laser-machined triangle sample (left), and
pitting corrosion sample (right).

3.2 Scanning Acoustic Microscopy (SAM) Measurements

A picture of the Scanning Acoustic Microscope (SAM) system and its immersion water tank is provided in Figure 7a.
The ultrasonic transducer used in the system had a nominal center frequency of 50 MHz and a focal length of 6.5 mm.
The transducer design was optimized to achieve a narrow, almost single cycle pulse, which allowed a clear time-
separation of the reflections from the various reflection interfaces (e.g. water/coating and coating/substrate). As shown in
Figure 7b, the standoff position of the focusing transducer element could be adjusted to probe individual interfaces. By
applying the appropriate time-gating and probe standoff positions, the substrate/paint interface could be probed
effectively. A set of c-scan images (Figure 7c) provides further evidence of this, where the water/topcoat interface and
paint/substrate interfaces provide significantly different information regarding the coating/substrate features. In effect,
the water/topcoat image is providing exclusive information about the coating, while the coating/substrate image is
providing information about the substrate, embedded corrosion in the substrate, and coating/substrate bond variations.
The corrosion pitting site is easily seen in the coating/substrate image as a white feature on the dark background.

a. b. c.
Figure 7: Scanning Acoustic Microscope (SAM) system (left), a-scan time-vs-amplitude traces (center), and c-scan
images of hidden corrosion sample (right).

The use of engineered corrosion samples allowed the direct one-to-one comparison of the SAM images with the actual
topographic features of the hidden corrosion site. Figure 8 provides examples of this for one of the triangle samples
(left), and one of the electrochemically pitted corrosion samples (right). An extremely good match is seen between both
sets of c-scan images obtained with the SAM system, and the topographic characteristics of the defect sites. In both
cases, the engineered hidden corrosion site appears as a bright intensity against a dark background.

98 Proc. of SPIE Vol. 5045

Downloaded From: http://proceedings.spiedigitallibrary.org/ on 08/15/2013 Terms of Use: http://spiedl.org/terms

 Topographic SAM c-scan Topographic SAM c-scan

Figure 8: Comparison of topographic and SAM c-scan images of hidden corrosion sites. Laser-machined triangle sample
(left), and electro-chemical corrosion pitting site (right).

3.3 Laser Interferometric Detection of Ultrasound Measurements

The use of a water-immersion SAM system is not a practical solution to detecting and characterizing hidden corrosion in
real aircraft components. The use of air-coupled ultrasonic transducers or laser-based ultrasound NDE systems do,
however, provide a very appealing alternative. Figure 9 provides a set of measurements taken with a scanning laser
interferometry NDE system, where traditional ultrasonic transducers were used to generate the ultrasound in the material,
and the laser provided a very high resolution probe of the ultrasonic energy levels. As shown in Figure 9, the laser-based
NDE measurements provided a capability very comparable to the SAM system, where the hidden defect sites appear as
bright image features against a dark background. The image on the far left was obtained using a thru-transmission
ultrasound field, while the near left image was obtained using a surface acoustic wave field. The image on the far right
was obtained for a surface wave interacting with a pitting corrosion site 1mm in diameter, and 35O.tm deep.

Figure 9: Laser-based measurement of ultrasound fields for thru-transmission (far-left), surface acoustic wave (SAW)
interaction with triangle (near-left), and surface acoustic wave (SAW) interaction with pit (far-right).

3.4 Passive Thermography Measurements

The ability to capture a full-field image of a hidden corrosion site under a simple paint layer is very appealing, and
passive thermography may provide one way of doing this. Current state-of-the-art, focal-plane array infrared camera
systems have excellent temperature sensitivities (25mK) and resolution capabilities (30 jim). Infrared camera
manufactures have also customized the spectral response characteristics of their systems to cover the near-JR to far-JR.
An Jndigo Merlin MWJR camera'4 was used in this effort to image hidden corrosion under paint. Jts spectral response
characteristics are optimized for the 3-5 im range, which makes it ideal for imaging through simple paint layers.

Figure 10 provides a set of images taken with the thermal camera system operating in a completely passive mode. The
defect sites again appear as bright image features against a dark background. The defect sites correspond to a 1mm/side
x 250j.tm deep triangle (far left image), and two pitting corrosion samples (center image set and right image set) that were
2OOtm — 3OOtm in overall size, and 3Otm - 5Otm deep. The resolution, signal-to-noise, and image contrast levels
were excellent when compared to the topographic features of the defect sites.

Proc. of SPIE Vol. 5045 99

Downloaded From: http://proceedings.spiedigitallibrary.org/ on 08/15/2013 Terms of Use: http://spiedl.org/terms

 Figure 10: Passive thermography images of triangle defect (far-left), and two small pitting corrosion sites (center image
set and right image set).

3.5 Radiographic Measurements

Two separate radiographic NDE systems were used to characterize the hidden corrosion reference samples. The first set
of measurements used a Phillips MGC 03 system that had a 0.4 mm focal spot size. The current, exposure time, and
distance were set to 5 mA, 1 .5 mm and 40" respectively. The part was put on the film, exposed to the X-rays at acertain
KY energy level, and were subsequently digitized. Figure 1 1 provides a set of representative measurements for the laser-
machined triangle sample. The image on the far left was taken at a 55KY energy level, and represents a set of laser-
machined triangles at increasing sizes and depths. The five images on the right correspond to a magnified view of the
smallest (1mm) and deepest (26O.tm) triangle taken at increasing KY energy levels (55KY to 8OKY). The hidden
triangle feature was imaged as a dark feature on a bright background. As the KY energy level increased, the signal-to-
noise ratio decreased from 27.11 @ 55KY to 2.7 @ 80KV. The image contrast was almost constant at a ratio of
—1.2:1.0.

60KV 65KV

Figure 11: Radiographic thru-transmission images of laser-machined triangle sample.

Of course, the ability to create fully 3-dimensional characterizations of a solid structure would be the ultimate
nondestructive evaluation tool. Radiographic computer tomography provides one such capability for accomplishing this.
To obtain radiographic computer tomographic measurements of the engineered corrosion samples, an ARACOR
Thomascope system was used. This system uses a Fein Focus 225KV, 50j.im microfocus X-ray source, and fiber optic
scintillators with four CCD image sensors to gather the full 3-dimensional characterization of the part. Figure 12
provides a representative measurement taken with this system, where a cross-sectional cut through the laser machined
triangle sample has been imaged. Thickness changes as small as 2% of the equivalent thickness were estimated with an
accuracy of

Figure 12: Radiographic computer tomography measurement result showing a cross-section image through the laser
machined triangle sample.

100 Proc. of SPIE Vol. 5045

Downloaded From: http://proceedings.spiedigitallibrary.org/ on 08/15/2013 Terms of Use: http://spiedl.org/terms

 4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

4.1 Microscopic Imaging of Hidden Corrosion

The ability to characterize and image the microscopic features of a hidden corrosion defect site can be accomplished by a
number of different physical mechanisms. In this effort, mechanical, thermal, and radiative energy forms were used to
detect and characterize engineered hidden corrosion features with varying degrees of success. Figure 13 provides a
direct comparison of the four different techniques evaluated in this study. Significant variations in image contrast levels,
signal-to-noise levels, and microscopic image resolving capabilities can be seen between the images, but in all cases, the
NDE technique was able to detect and image the hidden feature adequately.

¶
1.25mm

Thermography
Figure 1 3: Direct comparison of the microscopic imaging capabilities of the four NDE systems.
Radiography
I
4.2 Resolution Estimates
Because engineered hidden corrosion sample were used in the studies, a direct comparison of the topographic features of
the defect site could be made relative to each of the NDE measurement results. This allowed resolution estimates to be
made for each of the NDE systems as depicted in Figure 14. The plots in Figure 14 provide a direct comparison of the
topographic depth contour of the laser-machined triangle, and the measured NDE response for each system. In each
case, there is excellent agreement between the topographic and measured signal response, with resolution estimates
ranging from the expected -3Oim to 1OOim range.

0 0.25 0.5 0.75 1 1.25 1.5 0 0.25 0.5 0.75 1 1.25 1.5
Position (mm) Position (mm)

Figure 14: Comparison of topographic depth contour and measurement response for each of the four NDE systems.

Proc. of SPIE Vol. 5045 101

Downloaded From: http://proceedings.spiedigitallibrary.org/ on 08/15/2013 Terms of Use: http://spiedl.org/terms

 4.3 Sensitivity Estimates
Traditionally, measurements of corrosion using NDE techniques have been focused on evaluating material loss levels as
precisely and with as much sensitivity as possible. Current NDE measurement systems with a capability for measuring
material losses with a sensitivity 5% or less are considered to be good. The laser-machined triangle measurements
presented in Figures 13 and 14 correspond to a 26Otm deep feature in a 4mm thick sample coupon, which corresponds to
a material loss level of 6.5%. The corrosion pitting measurement results presented in Figures 8, 9 and 10, however, were
much more shallow (4Oim to 5Oim deep), and were in a much thicker sample coupon (1cm thick), which places material
loss sensitivity levels at 0. 1 % to 2% for all four NDE techniques.

5. CONCLUSIONS

A side-by-side comparison study was conducted for four promising NDE techniques with the goal of assessing their
capability for characterizing the detailed microscopic features of engineered and realistic hidden pitting corrosion
reference samples. The reference samples included laser-etched cutouts and electro-chemically created surface pits
ranging in size for 25Ojim to 5mm in surface extent, and depths of 25im to 1mm. Variations in measurement sensitivity,
detectivity, and spatial resolution were studied, with particular attention being focused on the ability of the NDE
technique to not only detect the hidden corrosion, but to provide any additional information regarding the microscopic
nature of the corrosion area, its roughness, material loss levels, and pitting sharpness. In all cases, the NDE techniques
provided an 'image' of the hidden corrosion areas, with some capability for assessing the internal structures of the pits
from the measured signal levels or brightness levels of the measured image fields. The results showed the potential for
future NDE systems to provide a quick and reliable capability for detecting and characterizing hidden corrosion under
paint, which should go a long way in reducing aircraft maintenance costs and improving flight safety.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors would like to thank and acknowledge the Center for Materials Diagnostics at the University of Dayton for
use of the near-field scanning interferometry system, and the WYCO surface profilimetry system, without which this
research would not have been made possible. Mr. Ed Porter and Mr. Dan Daniels prepared the digitized radiographic
and CT images respectively. Authors appreciate contributions of both engineers to the study.

REFERENCES
1. Hadcock, R., "The Air Force Aging Aircraft Fleet," USAF Structural Integrity Program Conference, Dayton, OH,
(1997).
2. Bieber, J., Tai, C., and Moulder, J., "Quantitative Assessment of Corrosion in Aircraft Structures using Scanning
Pulsed Eddy Current," Review ofProgress in QNDE, Vol. 17, (1998).
3. Lepine, B., and Holt, R., "An Eddy Current Scanning Method for the Detection of Corrosion under Fasteners in
Thick Skin Aircraft Structures," Canadian Aeronautics and Space Journal, March, (1997).
4. Abedi, A., Fellenstein, J., Lucas, A., and Wikswo, Jr., J., "A SQUID Magnetometer System for Quantitative
Analysis and Imaging of Hidden Corrosion Activity in Aircraft Aluminum Structures," Rev. Sci. Instrum., Vol. 70,
No. 12, (1999).
5. Briggs, A., Acoustic Microscopy, Oxford University Press, New York, (1992).
6. Bar-Cohen, Y., and Mal, A., "Ultrasonic Inspection", ASM Handbook—Nondestructive Evaluation and Quality
Control, ASM International, 17, USA, (1989).
7. Scruby, C., and Drain, L., Laser Ultrasonics — Techniques and Applications, Adam Hilger Publishing Ltd., Bristol,
England, (1990).
8. Perez, I., and Kulowitch, P., "Thermography for Characterization of Corrosion Damage," National Association of
Corrosion Engineers (NACE) Expo 2000, Orlando, Fl., (2000).

102 Proc. of SPIE Vol. 5045

Downloaded From: http://proceedings.spiedigitallibrary.org/ on 08/15/2013 Terms of Use: http://spiedl.org/terms

 9. Zoofan, B., and Rokhlin, S., "Microradiographic Detection of Corrosion Pitting", Materials Evaluation, (1998).
10. Cmar-Mascis, N., Winfree, W., and Parker, F., "Advanced Radiographic Methods for Visualization of Corrosion in
Aircraft Structures," Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering, Vol. 3586, (1999).
11. Mount Laser & Photonics, http:llwww.mlpc.com/.
12. WYCO Inc., http://www.veeco.com/.
13. Gamry Instruments, Inc., http:llwww.gamry.com/.
14. Indigo Systems Inc., http://www.indigosystems.com/index.html.

Proc. of SPIE Vol. 5045 103

Downloaded From: http://proceedings.spiedigitallibrary.org/ on 08/15/2013 Terms of Use: http://spiedl.org/terms