Method for turbine component qualification

1. A method for evaluating a component for use in a gas turbine engine, the method comprising the steps of:

inducing a thermal response of the component at an initial time;

capturing a two-dimensional infrared image of the thermal response of the component with a thermal imaging device, wherein the two-dimensional infrared image comprises a plurality of infrared image pixels;

generating a two-dimension to three-dimension mapping template to correlate two-dimensional infrared image data with three-dimensional locations on the component;

mapping at least a subset of the plurality of infrared image pixels of the two-dimensional infrared image to three-dimensional coordinates using the mapping template;

generating a three-dimensional infrared image and infrared data of the component from the mapped infrared image pixels to three-dimensional coordinates, wherein the three-dimensional infrared image and infrared data is used to qualify the component for use;

wherein the step of generating a two-dimension to three-dimension mapping template comprises:

generating a three-dimensional solid model of the component;

generating a two-dimensional reference image of the component from the three-dimensional solid model, wherein the two-dimensional reference image comprises a plurality of reference pixels, each reference pixel being associated with three-dimensional coordinates of the component as a function of three-dimensional coordinates of the three-dimensional solid model of the component;

dividing the two-dimensional infrared image into a plurality of infrared sub-images, each infrared sub-image comprising a discrete spatial region of the component and a portion of the plurality of infrared image pixels; and

mapping at least a subset of the plurality of infrared sub-images to corresponding spatial locations on the two-dimensional reference image of the component such that a plurality of infrared image pixels are mapped to a corresponding plurality of reference image pixels.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of capturing a two-dimensional infrared image comprises capturing a rate of radiation heat transfer between the component and the thermal imaging device on each of the plurality of infrared image pixels.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of mapping the two-dimensional infrared image of the component to three-dimensional coordinates comprises mapping at least a subset of the plurality of infrared image pixels to three-dimensional coordinates associated with the plurality of corresponding reference image pixels, wherein each of the plurality of infrared image pixels comprises a rate of radiation heat transfer between the component and the thermal imaging device.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the step of mapping the two-dimensional infrared image of the component to three-dimensional coordinates comprises:

mapping each of the plurality of infrared image pixels in an infrared sub-image to three-dimensional coordinates associated with the plurality of corresponding reference image pixels.

5. The method of claim 3 , further comprising the step of:

calculating a surface temperature for a plurality of locations along a surface of the component using the three-dimensional infrared image and data.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the step of calculating a surface temperature comprises:

calibrating the surface temperature calculation algorithm to correct for three-dimensional spatial variations in radiation heat transfer between the plurality of locations along the surface of the component and the thermal imaging device, wherein calibrating comprises determining a view angle of the thermal imaging device for each of the plurality of locations along the surface of the component.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the step of calculating a surface temperature comprises:

calibrating a surface temperature calculation algorithm to correct for environmental factors selected from the group consisting of environmental humidity, material emissivity, external radiation sources, and combinations thereof.

8. The method of claim 7 further comprising the steps of:

changing the thermal response of the component over a period of time following the initial time;

capturing a plurality of additional two-dimensional infrared images, wherein each of the additional two-dimensional infrared images are separated by a time interval within the period of time over which the thermal response changes, and wherein each of the additional two-dimensional infrared images captures a different thermal response than each of the other additional two-dimensional infrared images; and

generating the three-dimensional infrared image and data for at least a subset of the plurality of additional two-dimensional infrared images.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein calibrating a surface temperature calculation algorithm is done using the three-dimensional infrared image and data for at least one of the additional two-dimensional infrared images.

10. The method of claim 9 , further comprising the step of:

flowing a cooling fluid through an internal channel of the component;

determining a flow rate of the cooling fluid; and

assigning a qualitative performance indicator to the component based on the maximum internal heat flux and a flow rate of the cooling fluid, wherein the qualitative performance indicator designates an end use of the component including one or more environmental conditions within a range of environmental conditions the component is qualified for use in.

11. The method of claim 8 , further comprising the step of:

estimating a maximum internal heat flux for the component based on the three-dimensional infrared image and data for at least a subset of the plurality of additional two-dimensional infrared images.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of mapping the two-dimensional infrared image of the component to three-dimensional coordinates comprises using a technique selected from the group consisting of predetermined matched template correlating, projection mapping, and polynomial interpolation.

13. The method of claim 12 , further comprising the steps of:

changing the thermal response of the component over a period of time following the initial time;

capturing a plurality of additional two-dimensional infrared images, wherein each of the additional two-dimensional infrared images are separated by a time interval within the period of time over which the thermal response changes, and wherein each of the additional two-dimensional infrared images captures a different thermal response than each of the other additional two-dimensional infrared images; and

generating the three-dimensional infrared image and data for at least a subset of the plurality of additional two-dimensional infrared images.

14. A method of evaluating a component for use in a gas turbine engine, the method comprising:

uniformly heating the component at an initial time such that surface temperatures are approximately equal at all surface locations on the component;

capturing a two-dimensional infrared image of the component at the initial time with a thermal imaging device, wherein the two-dimensional infrared image comprises a plurality of infrared image pixels;

generating a two-dimension to three-dimension mapping template to correlate two-dimensional infrared image data with three-dimensional locations on the component;

mapping at least a subset of the plurality of infrared image pixels of the two-dimensional infrared image to three-dimensional coordinates using the mapping template;

generating a three-dimensional infrared image and infrared data of the component from the mapped infrared image pixels to three-dimensional coordinates, wherein the three-dimensional infrared image and infrared data is used to qualify the component for use;

wherein the step of generating a two-dimension to three-dimension mapping template comprises:

generating a three-dimensional solid model of the component;

orienting the three-dimensional solid model of the component to match an orientation of the component with respect to a view angle of the thermal imaging device;

generating a two-dimensional reference image of the component from the three-dimensional solid model, wherein the two-dimensional reference image comprises a plurality of reference pixels, each reference pixel being associated with three-dimensional coordinates of the component;

dividing the two-dimensional infrared image into a plurality of infrared sub-images, each infrared sub-image comprising a discrete spatial region of the component and a portion of the plurality of infrared image pixels; and

mapping at least a subset of the plurality of infrared sub-images to corresponding spatial locations on the two-dimensional reference image of the component such that a plurality of infrared image pixels are mapped to a corresponding plurality of reference image pixels.

15. the method of claim 14 , further comprising the step of:

calculating a surface temperature for a plurality of locations along the surface of the component using the three-dimensional infrared image and data generated from the two-dimensional infrared image captured at the initial time; and

calibrating the surface temperature calculation algorithm to correct for three-dimensional spatial variations along the surface of the component, wherein calibrating comprises determining the view angle of the thermal imaging device in relation to each of the plurality of locations.

16. The method of claim 15 , further comprising the steps of:

flowing a cooling fluid through an internal channel of the component to change the thermal response of the component over a period of time following the initial time;

capturing a plurality of additional two-dimensional infrared images, wherein each of the additional two-dimensional infrared images are separated by a time interval within the period of time over which the thermal response changes, and wherein each of the additional two-dimensional infrared images captures a different thermal response than each of the other additional two-dimensional infrared images;

generating the three-dimensional infrared image and data for at least a subset of the plurality of additional two-dimensional infrared images;

estimating a maximum internal heat flux for the component based on the three-dimensional infrared image and data for at least a subset of the plurality of additional two-dimensional infrared images;

determining a flow rate of the cooling fluid; and

assigning a qualitative performance indicator to the component based on the maximum internal heat flux and a flow rate of the cooling fluid, wherein the qualitative performance indicator designates an end use of the component including one or more environmental conditions within a range of environmental conditions the component is qualified for use in.