Non-Destructive Evaluation of Aerospace Composites

Abstract

Five methods of non-destructive material evaluation (NDE) were used to inspect various forms of damage commonly found in aerospace fiberglass composites: voids, edge and sub-surface delaminations, surface burning, and cracking. The images produced by X-ray, X-ray Computed Tomography, terahertz (THz) imaging, ultrasound, and flash IR thermography were analyzed for the detection of defects. Test results and analysis of each NDE method's capabilities provide a comparison study of conventional techniques versus the emerging technology of THz imaging for the non-destructive evaluation of aerospace composite materials. A comparison guide to the five methods' damage detection effectiveness for fiberglass composites is provided by defect type.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 01, 2009
Accession Number
ADA499249

Entities

People

  • Jeremy D. Johnson

Organizations

  • Air Force Institute of Technology

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Advanced Electronics
  • Biomedical
  • Sensors
  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Acoustic Waves
  • Air Force
  • Composite Materials
  • Detection
  • Detectors
  • Electromagnetic Radiation
  • Material Degradation Processes
  • Materials Laboratories
  • Materials Science
  • Materials Testing
  • Polymer Matrix Composites
  • Terahertz Radiation
  • Transport Aircraft
  • Ultrasounds
  • Waveforms
  • X Rays
  • X-Ray Computed Tomography

Fields of Study

  • Materials science
  • Physics

Readers

  • Quantum Dot Semiconductor Device Photonics and Graphene Optoelectronic Materials and THz Physics.
  • Structural Health Monitoring of Composite Structures.

Technology Areas

  • Space