Ultrasonic Cleaning of Aircraft Components

Many applications exist in the aircraft industry that can benefit from ultrasonic cleaning. Typical applications include brake parts, generator components, actuators, shuttle valves, filters, engine blades and vanes, aircraft wheels and bearings. Turbine blades and nozzle vanes from jet engines (pictured) - critical operational components - can be cleaned successfully with ultrasonics. The ultrasonic cleaning of these components has yielded results equal to or better than those gained from traditional solvent cleaning methods without harmful metal loss, erosion of the base metal surface, or potential surface defects inherent with sandblasting. Following are some factors to be considered for effective cleaning of precision aircraft components. Size: The size and shape of the components will vary. Some of the components are as small as one cubic inch; the larger units might be as much as 30 inches in diameter by 10 inches high. Material of Construction: T he components are made of materials such as aluminum, stainless steel, carbon steel, copper, ceramic, and high-strength alloys. Typical Contaminant: Soils range from organic residues to inorganic scales, rust, oxides, and carbon.