Composites
Wavelength
NDT have extensive experience of investigating many types of composite
materials using standard and advanced inspection techniques. Some
examples of the type of work we undertake are listed below and in
our applications
pages, but please contact
us if you require further information for your particular application.
Impact
damage
Impact
damage can quickly be identified using conventional A-scan
ultrasonic inspection or advanced phased array B-scan
and C-scan
techniques. In most cases the extent of damage can be quantified
providing important information for stress and design engineers.
Porosity
and void detection
Evidence
of porosity can be detected in a number of ways including simple
A-scan
measurements through to detailed B-scan
and C-scan
analysis of the ultrasound echo position and amplitude.
Repair
patches
Wavelength
NDT routinely inspect repaired laminate and can assess the degree
of bonding between the repair and original laminate and detect problems
such as voiding and porosity in the repair laminate.
Fibre
waviness (wrinkles)
Using
the latest technology, ultrasonic imaging of in-plane and out-of-plane
fibre waviness can be performed and quantitative measurement of
the fibre angle made. Wavelength NDT have developed approved techniques
for out-of-plane waviness assessment in carbon and glass fibre laminates.
Bonding
Depending
on the structure design and material, several bondtesting techniques
are possible. Wavelength NDT routinely use A-scan
and C-scan
ultrasound inspection techniques for monolithic carbon fibre laminates
and lower frequency acoustic and digital tap testing methods for
glass fibre laminates and cored structures.
Complex
composites
More
complex forms of composite structures such as cored materials (e.g.
Rohacell/Nomex), multilayer sandwich (e.g. GLARE), or hybrid structures
can present significant challenges for the NDT engineer. Wavelength
NDT have experience of inspecting a range of cored laminates in
the Aerospace and Marine sectors using high and low frequency ultrasound
and acoustic techniques such as mechanical impedance, resonance,
pitch-catch testing and digital tap testing.
Example
inspection
The
following interactive image shows the relationship between the raw
A-scan
data and the cross-section B-scan
and the C-scan
images. By moving the mouse over the features in the C-scan image
(bottom two displays) changes in the A-scan signal and B-scan images
can be observed which help the operator understand what is happening
inside the structure.
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