A novel microwave-based non-destructive testing system for detection of sub-surface defects in natural flax fiber reinforced composite material

• Published in: Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. Part L, Journal of materials, design and applications Journal of materials, design and applications, 2024-04, Vol.238 (4), p.693-706
• Main Authors: Anbalagan, Arunkumar, Ramalingam, Vimal Samsingh, Sundarsingh, Esther Florence, Subbaraj, Sangeetha
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Armor; Composite materials; Computer simulation; Design defects; Fiber composites; Fiber reinforced polymers; Flax; Microwave sensors; Nondestructive testing; Permittivity; Rectangular waveguides; Reflectance; Sensitivity; Software; Substrates; Surface defects; Unit cell
• ISSN: 1464-4207; 2041-3076
• DOI: 10.1177/14644207231195996

In the work presented here, microwave non-destructive testing using a rectangular waveguide loaded with a novel planar unit cell filter for the inspection of defects in the composite is studied. The proposed planar filter is designed as a unit cell with a copper (annealed) microstrip component on an FR-4 substrate. The waveguide loaded with the planar filter exhibits a reflection coefficient of −35.919 dB at a frequency of 10.548 GHz. This planar filter waveguide is used as the sensor probe for the non-destructive testing method proposed here and is aimed to increase the sensitivity by measuring the differences in permittivity of materials. Computer simulation technology software (CST studio suite) is used for implementing the design, simulation, and material/defect evaluation. The defects studied are voids, cracks, and delamination in an epoxy-based natural flax fiber-reinforced composite material. The performance-improved microwave sensor probe is used to pick up permittivity variations in the presence of defects in lax-based natural fiber-reinforced composite material.