Nondestructive Testing of Composite Materials: An In-Depth Study Using Ultrasonic Immersion Inspection

• Published in: Russian journal of nondestructive testing 2024-07, Vol.60 (7), p.750-763
• Main Authors: Bouzar Essaidi, A., Lourari, A., El Yousfi, B., Benkedjouh, T.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acoustic Methods; Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Chemistry and Materials Science; Composite materials; Composite structures; Defects; Impact analysis; Inspection; Materials Science; Nondestructive testing; Structural Materials; Submerging; Ultrasonic testing; Wave propagation
• ISSN: 1061-8309; 1608-3385
• DOI: 10.1134/S1061830924600035

This study introduces an innovative approach for inspecting composite structures using advanced nondestructive testing (NDT) techniques, specifically ultrasonic inspection utilizing the UPK-T36 ULTRAPAC II immersion system. The primary objective is the analysis of glass/epoxy plate samples subjected to varying levels of impact energy. A comprehensive exploration, encompassing A-scan, B-scan, and C-scan mappings, has been undertaken to discern and characterize defects, with an explicit focus on the intricacies of delamination. The root mean square (RMS) was employed to statistically assess the structure’s condition in this study. The underpinnings of ultrasonic NDT, delving into the intricacies of wave propagation modeling, probabilistic defect detection, three-dimensional localization, and multi-scale characterization, have been examined with precision. The results collected through the utilization of the ULTRAPAC II UPK-T36 immersion system for defect reconstruction across a diverse array of samples unequivocally affirm the efficacy of the proposed method, producing outcomes of satisfaction.