Nondestructive Evaluation Of Complex Composites Using Advanced Computed Tomography Ct Imaging

Nondestructive Evaluation of Complex Composites Using Advanced Computed Tomography (CT) Imaging

Several methods for nondestructive inspection/nondestructive testing (NDI/NDT) of materials have been known and in use for many years. These methods have included dimensional checks for compliance with specifications, visual inspection for surface defects, various penetrant inspection techniques for small discontinuities that originate at or intersect the surface, and magnetic inspection techniques for small discontinuities that are located at or near the surface. X-ray and various ultrasonic inspection techniques have been used to detect internal defects that do not intersect the surface. However, conventional x-ray radiography suffers from the loss of three-dimensional (3-D) information, since a film radiograph or a fluoroscopic image is a shadowgraph. Ultrasonic inspection techniques suffer from the fact that composite materials contain many signal dispersing interfaces. This makes inspection scan interpretation difficult, especially in complex composites which can contain polymer, ceramic, and metal materials. This report discusses past and current applications of computed tomography (CT) imaging for inspection of composite structures. Several examples of advanced CT inspection of complex composite structures are also presented and discussed.

A Technology Assessment of Nondestructive Evaluation (NDE) of Advanced Fiber Reinforced Polymer Composites

Review of Progress in Quantitative Nondestructive Evaluation

These Proceedings, consisting of Parts A and B, contain the edited versions of most of the papers presented at the annual Review of Progress in Quantitative Nondestructive Evaluation held at the University of Washington, Seattle on July 30 to August 4, 1995. The Review was organized by the Center for NDE at Iowa State University, in cooperation with the Ames Laboratory of the USDOE, the American Society of Nondestructive Testing, the Department of Energy, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Federal Aviation Administration, the National Science Foundation IndustryiUniversity Cooperative Research Centers, and the Working Group in Quantitative NDE. This year's Review of Progress in QNDE was attended by approximately 450 participants from the US and many foreign countries who presented over 375 papers. The meeting was divided into 36 sessions with as many as four sessions running concurrently. The Review covered all phases of NDE research and development from fundamental investigations to engineering applications or inspection systems, and it included many important methods of inspection science from acoustics to x-rays. In the last several years, the Review has stabilized at about its current size. Most participants seem to agree it is large enough to permit a full-scale overview of the latest developments but still small enough to retain the collegial atmosphere which has marked the Review since its inception. The Proceedings are structured in a format to reflect the organization of the Review itself, producing a more logical organization for both the meeting and the present volume.