Publications
FAA Fluorescent Penetrant Laboratory Inspections
The Federal Aviation Administration Airworthiness Assurance NDI Validation Center currently assesses the capability of various non-destructive inspection (NDI) methods used for analyzing aircraft components. The focus of one such exercise is to evaluate the sensitivity of fluorescent liquid penetrant inspection. A baseline procedure using the water-washable fluorescent penetrant method defines a foundation for comparing the brightness of low cycle fatigue cracks in titanium test panels. The analysis of deviations in the baseline procedure will determine an acceptable range of operation for the steps in the inspection process. The data also gives insight into the depth of each crack and which step(s) of the inspection process most affect penetrant sensitivities. A set of six low cycle fatigue cracks produced in 6.35-mm thick Ti-6Al-4V specimens was used to conduct the experiments to produce sensitivity data. The results will document the consistency of the crack readings and compare previous experiments to find the best parameters for water-washable penetrant.