Method and system for identifying and repairing defective cells in a plugged honeycomb structure

1. A method of detecting defects in a plugged honeycomb structure, comprising the steps of:

forming a sheet of light having a first color across a first end face of the honeycomb structure;

generating a first reflected signal from the sheet of light at a location corresponding to a cell containing a defect in the honeycomb structure;

illuminating the first end face with an incident light beam having a second color;

generating a second reflected signal from the incident light beam; and

capturing an image of the first and second reflected signals.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein generating the first reflected signal comprises passing a gaseous material into the honeycomb structure though a second end face of the honeycomb structure, wherein particles of the gaseous material emerge at the first end face though the cell containing the defect and intersect the sheet of light to produce the first reflected signal.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the image is composed of the first color and the second color.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the first color represents the size and location of the defect.

5. The method of claim 3 wherein the second color represents a configuration of cells at the first end face.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the first and second colors are selected from the group consisting of red, green, and blue.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein capturing an image of the first and second reflected signals comprises sensing the first and second reflected signals using a charge-coupled device array.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising processing the image to identify the cell in the honeycomb structure containing the defect.

9. The method of claim 8 further comprising marking or repairing the cell containing the defect.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein forming a sheet of light comprises generating a plurality of beams having a first profile and a plurality of beams having a second profile and overlapping the beams to form the sheet of light.

11. A system for detecting defects in a plugged honeycomb structure, comprising:

a holder which supports the honeycomb structure;

a first illuminator which forms a sheet of light having a first color across a first end face of the honeycomb structure;

a second illuminator which illuminates the first end face with an incident light beam having a second color;

a gas source which directs a gaseous material containing particulates at a second end face of the honeycomb structure; and

an imaging device which captures an image of reflected signals produced from the sheet of light and the incident light beam.

12. The system of claim 11 wherein the imaging device comprises a charge-coupled device array for detecting the reflected signals.

13. The system of claim 11 further comprising a processor which receives the image from the imaging device and processes the image to identify cells in the honeycomb structure containing defects.

14. The system of claim 11 wherein the first illuminator comprises a plurality of first light sources having a first beam profile and a plurality of second light sources having a second beam profile, the first beam profile being different from the second beam profile.

15. The system of claim 14 wherein the first and second light sources are arranged in an alternating pattern.