The use NonDestructive Testing and Evaluation techniques for the inspection of aerospace materials has progressively increase in the last few decades as commercial and military aircrafts exceed their initial design life. Aerospace components are typically made of aluminium, honeycomb structures, composites or fibre metal laminates (FML), which are affected by different types of anomalies, namely: delaminations, disbonds, water ingress, node failure and core crushing. Possible causes are either material contamination introduced during manufacture, e.g. dirt, solvents, moisture, oils, etc.; or by damages caused during in-flight operation, e.g. after impact. Infrared thermography techniques have proven to be an effective way to detect and, in many cases, to quantify the degree of surface and subsurface damage on such components. Several configurations have been proposed to achieve an active thermography inspection ranging from passive inspection, i.e. without applying any external stimulation, to active approaches, in which an external source of energy is used to produce a thermal contrast between the non-defective and the defective material. The thermal stimulation can be delivered to the specimen surface by optical, mechanical, electromagnetic or other means. The physics and the practical considerations behind these approaches are different in all cases, and the selection of one or another will depend on the specific application and the availability of the equipment. In this paper, a review of recent developments on the thermographic inspection of aerospace materials is proposed. Some guidelines, supported with examples on real and academic specimens, are provided to illustrate the most suitable technique to be considered for some conventional applications.


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    Title :

    Recent progresses in the inspection of aerospace components by infrared thermography


    Additional title:

    Neuere Entwicklungen bei der Prüfung von Luftfahrtkomponenten durch Infrarotthermographie




    Publication date :

    2008


    Size :

    9 Seiten, 7 Bilder, 1 Tabelle, 22 Quellen


    Remarks:

    (nicht paginiert)


    Type of media :

    Conference paper


    Type of material :

    Storage medium


    Language :

    English