Patent ID: 7376518

Claim:
A system for non-destructively inspecting and characterizing micro-structural features in a thermal barrier coating on a component, wherein said micro-structural features define pores and cracks, if any, in said thermal barrier coating, said micro-structural features having characteristics at least in part based on a type of process used for developing said thermal barrier coating, and affected by operational thermal loads to which a thermal barrier coating is exposed, said inspection system comprising: a detection system configured to detect micro-structural features in a thermal barrier coating, and wherein the detection of the micro-structural features is based on electromagnetic energy transmitted through said coating, said detection system further configured to process said transmitted energy to generate data representative of said micro-structural features, wherein the detection system comprises a source of electromagnetic energy spaced apart with respect to the thermal barrier coating for generating electromagnetic energy to be transmitted through the coating, and wherein the detection system further comprises an array detector spaced apart with respect to the thermal barrier coating and disposed opposite to the source of electromagnetic energy for receiving electromagnetic energy having passed through the coating; and a processor configured to process the data representative of said micro-structural features to determine at least one of the following: volumetric porosity information for the thermal barrier coating and information regarding variation in the characteristics of said micro-structural features over a thickness of said thermal barrier coating, said processor including a module for generating information regarding at least one of the following: a present condition of the thermal barrier coating and a future likely condition of the thermal barrier coating.