Phil Cooper

Personal Profile

I spent my early career building small helicopters from kits and as a licensed aircraft mechanic on fixed wing aircraft. From there I ended up working on rally and touring cars before entering the world of formula 1. I have worked for many teams including Stewart gp, Arrows, Jaguar, Williams and RedBull.

Now I run a company that strives for perfection to ensure our customers safety and reliability. We work to the tightest of deadlines to make sure parts are ready on schedule for your race or build program.

Our services MPI, DPI, RT, UT, ET

Pre testing

All parts are cleaned and visually inspected prior to DPI/MPI/UT or ET inspection.

The visual inspection is carried out under lighting conditions that meet or exceed British Standards for this work. We also have standard magnification and digitally enhanced inspection viewing methods.

A few minutes cleaning and having a good look under these conditions can sometimes reveal flaws that would only be found using the above methods so this can save the customer time and money.

Magnetic Particle Testing (MPI/ MT)

This method is used for ferrous parts.

Once again we will only use Magnaflux chemicals on our MPI benches. All certificates of conformity are kept for our records and traceability.

Our two benches offer inspection currents of up to 2000 coil amps. This is more than enough for the biggest parts that we see. I have used this personally to inspect crankshafts for my two 10.5ltr V8 diesel Caterpillar engines. These two benches can offer inspection of anything from 4mm washers to the aforementioned crankshafts and everything in between.

We also have a magnetic yoke for parts that will not fit on our benches, for example sub-frames and chassis. This is particularly useful post shunts as we can offer a scan of the parts to check for distortion and then a MPI inspection to check for any material failures.

Dye Penetrant Inspection (DPI/ PT)

This method gives a 100% coverage and is the prime inspection method for all non-ferrous parts. They can be immersed in our tanks or brushed on for a more local inspection.

We only use magnaflux chemicals for our dye penetrant lines or even trackside or off site inspections. The two primary lines use Zyglo ZL60C, but for more sensitive, finer, smaller faults we can also offer a post emulsifiable system which is usually used for aircraft items such as turbine blades.

Our wash system water is triple filtered and temperature controlled to ensure no watermarks are left on the items/ parts post inspection. The parts are dried in accordance with all British standards and then developed using either aerosol systems or in our storm cabinet. All parts are then inspected under a minimum of 1500uW/cm2 UV inspection lighting.

Post inspection parts are cleaned, dried, and processed as per customer requirements or to our own internal procedures. Some of our customers supply their own protective coatings (oils/ paper/ specialist bagging) so that parts may be delivered straight to the end user.

Radiographic Testing (RT)

Radiographic Testing (RT) is a non-destructive testing (NDT) method that uses ionising radiation to create an image of the internal structure of materials. RT is commonly used in the motorsport and automotive industries to inspect components for defects such as cracks, voids, inclusions, and other types of imperfections.

To perform RT, a technician or engineer first places the component being tested between a source of ionising radiation and a detector, such as a film or digital detector. The ionising radiation passes through the component and is absorbed or scattered by the material. The intensity and pattern of the radiation that reaches the detector is recorded and used to create an image of the internal structure of the component.

Technicians and engineers who perform RT will need to be trained in the use of ionising radiation sources and detectors, as well as the interpretation of the resulting images. They will also need to be familiar with the relevant industry standards and specifications, as well as safety procedures for working with ionising radiation.

In the motorsport and automotive industries, RT is often used to inspect components such as engine parts, drivetrain components, and suspension elements. It can be performed on a wide range of materials, including metals, plastics, and composites. RT is a fast and reliable method of detecting defects, but it requires specialised equipment and trained personnel to perform.

Ultrasonic Inspection (UT)

Ultrasonic Inspection (UT) in Motorsports and Aviation

At Motorsport NDT Ltd, we leverage our extensive experience and technical expertise in UT to deliver a thorough and accurate inspection service for metallic and composite (non-metallic) components. Our focus on composite structure inspection for the motorsports and aviation industries places us as a national leading provider in the field of NDT.

The UT process is a volumetric inspection method providing the ability to look inside objects. The UT process involves the transmission of ultrasonic waves into the object being tested. The waves propagate through the material and are reflected back to the surface, where they are detected by a receiving transducer. The time of flight and amplitude of the reflected wave are analysed to determine the integrity of the internal microstructure of engineered components.

At Motorsport NDT Ltd, we only use high end Ultrasonic Inspection (UT) equipment such as the GE manufactured USM36. In compliance with the Motorsport NDT Ltd quality system, our equipment undergoes daily inspections and annual calibrations to ensure accuracy and reliability of the results.

Even though there are cheaper test equipment options readily available, the demands of the highest performance industries like that of our F1 customers, requires that we provide the best quality results by ensuring repeatability and conformity with those customers' test facilities and standards.

The Ultrasonic Inspection (UT) process allows us to check your new and mileage accumulated parts for structural integrity checking for example the internal bonds for;

inserts for engine mounts
seat belt hard pads
suspension mounting points

And all other types of performance and safety critical components.

Cured ply thicknesses of 0.22mm are common in modern autoclaved prepreg composites, these structures often have threaded inserts and other items bonded into them. In the event that one of these items e.g. a 5mm threaded insert experiences a failure, it is essential to know the mode of failure that has occurred for instance a;

delamination
bond failure (glue separation form insert or composite structure)

Through the use of Ultrasonic Inspection (UT), a clear knowledge of the mode of failure and its causes (vibration, adverse loading conditions etc.) can be established. This data and knowledge is critical for a good repair scheme or redesign.

At Motorsport NDT Ltd, we can go further by checking ribs in wings and flaps to;

ensure parts have been correctly manufactured
to check if components and assemblies have failed under load
check the safety of items as part of a post a crash inspection.

This data can also be used to put together salvage schemes for expensive or irreplaceable parts. Delaminations after a crash or strike are easily and thoroughly checked and mapped out providing customers with a complete report of the extent of the invisible damage.

Eddy current inspection (ET)

Eddy current inspection is generally used for non-ferrous parts however it can also be used for ferrous.

This inspection process is done with a probe (ours are 2,3 and 5mm) therefore unlike dye penetrant inspection (100% coverage) it’s used for more local inspections or known fault areas. Being portable it is easily used trackside and like UT inspection will be seen in most Formula 1 garages. Unlike dye penetrant inspection it can pick up “non surface breaking” defects. This lends itself to checking new parts that have been painted or coated as we can “see” through this by a small change in our calibration.

In service parts that have been painted a few times can be checked without having to chemically strip the paint.

Other than being a fantastic system for doing items like suspension clevises and parts stuck to a car or large car parts i.e. flap hangers on a wing, this is the system for inspecting wheels. All aircraft wheels are inspected using eddy current as are all wheels in F1, it is faster than dye penetrant, we can check through paint work and doesn’t leave you with yellow tinged wheels. We are the supplier for wheel inspection to one of the top Formula 1 teams, many of the GT field and many other race series. We have an area specifically used for wheel inspection and due to the accuracy and speed of this system we can keep wheel inspection pricing very reasonable.