Abstract:
A simple, fluorescence based imaging system has been developed which is capable of identifying regions of thermal damage in polymer-matrix composites (PMC's). PMC's are playing an increasingly important role in applications where low weight and high mechanical strength are important. A particular concern in the aerospace industry is the tendency of some PMC materials to become irreversibly damaged when exposed to elevated temperatures. Traditional non-destructive evaluation (NDE) techniques are capable of detecting physical flaws, such as cracks and delaminations, but have not proven effective for detecting initial heat damage, which occurs on a molecular scale. Spectroscopic techniques such as laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) provide an attractive means for detecting thermal damage on large, irregularly shaped surfaces. In this paper we describe instrumentation capable of rapidly detecting thermal damage in graphite/epoxy components.
Source: Proceedings of the 'NDE applied to Process Control of Composite Fabrication' - Conference, 1-2 Oct 1996 St. Louis, Missouri. Publisher and Organizer: Nondestructive Testing Information Analysis Center (NTIAC) Texas Research Institute Austin, Inc. Austin, Texas [http://www.ntiac.com] [Buying the Proceedings]
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