Integrating Location-Specific Non-Destructive Inspection Simulation With Probabilistic Damage Tolerance Assessment

Abstract Conventional probability of detection (POD) curve development is an expensive process that may not adequately capture local parameters that can influence POD outcomes. Non-destructive evaluation (NDE) simulation has the capability to consider these parameters but requires information regarding the anomaly sizes that must be found. Probabilistic damage tolerance (PDT) can be used to quantify anomaly sizes that are associated with failure at specific locations throughout a component. In this paper, a methodology is presented for integrating NDE simulation (via the CIVA software) with PDT analysis of turbine engine components (via the DARWIN® software). High risk locations are identified using PDT analysis. Anomaly sizes and orientations that lead to failure are identified for the NDE simulation. The resulting POD curves are applied to PDT assessments to quantify the influence of NDE on fracture risk enabling the analyst to identify the locations in a component that may benefit most from NDE inspection. The methodology is illustrated for a representative gas turbine engine component.