PhaseMaster · Advanced spatial phase shifting techniques and applications to non-destructive testing of large engineering components on-site

With the rapid expansion in wind energy sector world wide, there is an increasing need to develop a technique that can be used to inspect wind turbine blades (WTB) on-site, so that the reliability and integrity of the structure and components can be maintained. However, most of the existing NDT techniques are difficult to use for WTB inspection on-site because of the complex working conditions and restrictions. Shearography technique has shown great potential in this aspect, and has been used in laboratory within a huge vacuum chamber to inspect large components. This proposal aims to develop advanced optical NDT techniques that can be used to inspect WTB and other large engineering components/structures on-site.The main objectives are:• Develop an advanced spatially phase shifted digital shearography (SPS-DS)• Develop robust algorithms to extract phase from single specklegram and from multiple specklegrams• Extend the working range of the system by rigid body motion compensation• Demonstrate the prototype system for wind turbine blade inspection on-siteThe host organisation, TWI, has been working closely with industrial partners across Europe to develop new NDT techniques for two decades. Projects have successfully involved the whole supply chain including SMEs, RTDs and LE end users. TWI’s 3500 membership base will ensure that the fellow will be exposed to a wide range of potential contributors and end users. This project will benefit end-users across a range of industries by developing novel optical techniques, improving reliability and integrity of engineering components.