Bond Surface Contamination Imaging Using an AOTF Spectrometer

Because of inherent limitations of currently implemented methods for bond surface contamination detection such as visual inspection with “black light” and optically stimulated electron emission (OSEE), research and development activities have been ongoing to develop alternate methods for detection of contamination on bonding surfaces of solid rocket motors (SRM). Limitations of current technology include the inability to identify contaminants or to effectively detect their presence on rough aluminum and most polymeric substrates characteristic of case, insulator, and nozzle materials. In this work, diffuse reflectance IR spectroscopy using an AOTF spectrometer has been applied to the problem of mapping or scanning SRM type materials — specifically, aluminum 7075 with hydrocarbon contamination