Application of a flight-line disk crack detector to a small engine

A disk crack detector was developed and applied to a small military engine for use as a flight-line turbine crack monitor. The system consists of an eddy current type sensor and its cables within the engine, external connecting cables, and a remotely located electrical capacitance-conductance bridge and signal analyzer. As the turbine spins, the rotor is monitored by the sensor for radial surface cracks emanating from the interblade region of the rotor.