- First announced in December 2022, the new Center (STAC) will enable GE Aerospace to accelerate the deployment of new inspection and repair processes to its MRO shops globally
- New process to improve the inspection of metal parts based on the same technology used to expose art forgeries will be first to deploy through the STAC
- Will support GE Aerospace’s efforts to meet increased services demand and reduce industry supply chain constraints
SPRINGDALE, OHIO – Wednesday, June 19, 2024 – GE Aerospace’s global network of service shops soon will have a new inspection process to improve the way they inspect metal parts, using the same technology scientists rely upon to help museums and auction houses identify forged artwork. It will be the first deployed through GE Aerospace’s new STAC facility, which opens in September.
GE Aerospace, in partnership with Bruker, a leading provider of analytical tools for material characterization, have developed a new inspection process using a non-destructive open beam x-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF) inspection device capable of detecting microstructural variations in metal parts.
Along with improving the quality and detail of part inspections, this new inspection process is designed to improve our airline customer’s cost of ownership by more clearly delineating airworthy repaired parts that can be returned to the field in lieu of replacing them entirely with new parts. This will help reduce supply chain constraints with the manufacture of new parts, improving the overall turnaround time of our engine overhauls.
“We’re excited to be opening our new STAC facility, which will serve as a major accelerator for scaling and deploying cutting edge inspection and repair processes to market,” said Nicole Jenkins, Chief MRO Engineer, GE Aerospace. “We have already begun moving equipment into the facility and preparing to launch our first inspection process that takes a page from the art world to improve the quality and speed of detecting chemical anomalies in metal parts.”
Thomas Schuelein, President of Bruker’s Nano Analytics Division, commented: “We are excited to extend our most advanced XRF technology into the Aerospace industry, contributing to set a new standard in non-destructive chemical analysis techniques and therefore helping to support aircraft component re-manufacturing quality. This first successful program under the joint technology development agreement with GE Aerospace underlines Bruker’s commitment to innovation, and we look forward to further breakthroughs in this sector.”
Caption: The artistry of inspection. Pictured is the X-Ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy (XRF) inspection device currently installed at the GE Aerospace Inspection Solutions (AIS) facility in Springdale, Ohio. Developed in partnership with Bruker, this is the same technology commonly used in art and conservation to tell the history of an art object's origin or to decipher its authenticity that is now being applied to enhance jet engine part inspections.
Jet Engine Metal Parts and Master Artworks’ “Chemical” Bond
Investigating works of art and inspecting metal parts in jet engines have something in common – both have a chemical composition. In art and conservation, XRF is used to image and see aspects of an art object’s chemical composition that can tell you about the history of its origin and how to restore it or, in some cases, whether the piece is real or fake. For metal part inspections, the XRF provides a view of the part’s chemical composition that can help a service engineer more-readily spot anomalies.
“With the new XRF technology we have developed in partnership with Bruker, we’re inspecting metal jet engine parts at the same level of forensic detail museums and auction houses use to identify forged pieces of artwork,” Jenkins added. “This new inspection will allow us to be even more vigilant with verifying the integrity of metal parts.”
The new process using X-ray is one of a variety of imaging methods and techniques GE Aerospace engineers use in its inspection processes. Ultrasound, Computed tomography, flash thermography, eddy current testing, fluorescent penetrant inspection, and dimensional metrology are also used to inspect engine components, depending on what can best interrogate a given material or part.
ABOUT GE AEROSPACE
GE Aerospace (NYSE: GE) is a global aerospace propulsion, services, and systems leader with an installed base of approximately 44,000 commercial and 26,000 military aircraft engines. With a global team of 52,000 employees building on more than a century of innovation and learning, GE Aerospace is committed to inventing the future of flight, lifting people up, and bringing them home safely. Learn more about how GE Aerospace and its partners are defining flight for today, tomorrow and the future at www.geaerospace.com.
ABOUT BRUKER
Bruker is enabling scientists and engineers to make breakthrough post-genomic discoveries and develop new applications that improve the quality of human life. Bruker’s high-performance scientific instruments and high-value analytical and diagnostic solutions enable scientists to explore life and materials at molecular, cellular, and microscopic levels.
In close cooperation with our customers, Bruker is enabling innovation, improved productivity, and customer success in post-genomic life science molecular and cell biology research, in applied and biopharma applications, in microscopy and nanoanalysis, as well as in industrial and cleantech research, and next-gen semiconductor metrology in support of AI. Bruker offers differentiated, high-value life science and diagnostics systems and solutions in preclinical imaging, clinical phenomics research, proteomics and multiomics, spatial and single-cell biology, functional structural and condensate biology, as well as in clinical microbiology and molecular diagnostics. For more information, please visit www.bruker.com.
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