[ntiacnews]RFI: inspection of composite "hoop wrapped" cylinders

[Chris Coughlin]

Hello All;

NTIAC is soliciting information from vendors and service providers concerning
an ongoing investigation into options for the nondestructive inspection of
composite gas cylinders.  Specifically, we are interested in hearing from
service providers that are able to inspect carbon fiber and fiberglass "hoop
wrapped" SCUBA tanks, DOT Exemption Numbers DOT-E 7235 (2216 PSI) and DOT-E
10915-4500 (4500 PSI), for a variety of damage conditions including:

* cracks
* heat damage
* fiber breakage
* delaminations
* corrosion
* crushing damage
* stress rupture

The inspection techniques of interest for this study are limited to:

* Ultrasonics
* Acoustic Emission
* Thermographic Techniques
* Thermoelastic Stress Analysis (TSA, sometimes referred to under the name
SPATE)

During this early stage of the investigation, we intend to send several (5-6)
of the cylinders to the interested service providers for a quick "go/no-go"
inspection, i.e.  whether damage can be detected or not (no in-depth
inspections).  In the anticipated followup work, the successful service
providers will conduct a full inspection of a larger set of cylinders.

Interested vendors and service providers should contact me (Chris Coughlin) as
soon as possible.  Please note that this work is primarily intended to
streamline and focus the full-fledged inspections of the anticipated followup
work; resources are limited.

Regards,
Chris

--
Chris Coughlin / Webmaster / NTIAC.COM
415 Crystal Creek Drive / Austin TX 78746 / 1-800-NTIAC39
ccoughlin@ntiac.com / http://www.ntiac.com