Detection of drilling-induced delamination in aeronautical composites by noncontact laser ultrasonic method.

A novel application of the laser ultrasonic technique for the detection of drilling-induced delamination in composite components of aircrafts is proposed. Numerous key components of aircrafts are made of composite materials, and drilling is often a final operation during assembly. Drilling-induced delamination significantly reduces the structural reliability, and it is rather difficult to be detected effectively and automatically.

Ultrasonic characterization of delamination in aeronautical composites using noncontact laser generation and detection.

The characterization of delamination in composite plates with ultrasonic waves generated and detected by lasers is presented. Composite materials have become one of the most important structural materials in the aviation industry because of their excellent mechanical properties, such as high specific stiffness and antifatigue. This paper reports a new application of the laser ultrasonic technique to perform nondestructive detection of carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP) and continuous-fiber-reinforced ceramic matrix composites (CFCCs) containing artificial internal defects, based on propagation characteristic of ultrasonic waves generated by pulse laser with a wavelength of 1064 nm and pulse duration of 10 ns.