Patent ID: 7690840

Claim:
A near real-time method for inspecting a rotationally operating turbine component, the component having an exterior protective ceramic thermal barrier coating potentially undergoing degradation in a corrosive high temperature turbine environment, the component further having a cooling system, the method comprising: remotely monitoring radiant energy from an area of the turbine component while the component is rotating, said monitoring being performed with a focal plane array imaging sensor configured to concurrently acquire a plurality of thermal imaging points spatially registered over said area of the component and having sufficient resolution to identify an incipient degradation of the cooling system and/or the thermal barrier coating prior to said degradation escalating to a point of failure of the component; processing said plurality of thermal imaging points to generate an image of said area of the turbine component to indicate the incipient degradation in the area of the turbine component; and evaluating the incipient degradation indicated in the image, wherein said monitoring, processing and evaluating are effected within a sufficiently short period of time to avert an escalation of said incipient degradation to the point of failure of the turbine component.