Detection of defects in multi-layered aramid composites by ultrasonic IR thermography

Monika Pracht; Waldemar Swiderski

doi:10.1117/12.2277110

6 October 2017 Detection of defects in multi-layered aramid composites by ultrasonic IR thermography

Monika Pracht, Waldemar Swiderski

Proceedings Volume 10433, Electro-Optical and Infrared Systems: Technology and Applications XIV; 1043303 (2017) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2277110
Event: SPIE Security + Defence, 2017, Warsaw, Poland

Abstract

In military applications, laminates reinforced with aramid, carbon, and glass fibers are used for the construction of protection products against light ballistics. Material layers can be very different by their physical properties. Therefore, such materials represent a difficult inspection task for many traditional techniques of non-destructive testing (NDT). Defects which can appear in this type of many-layered composite materials usually are inaccuracies in gluing composite layers and stratifications or delaminations occurring under hits of fragments and bullets. IR thermographic NDT is considered as a candidate technique to detect such defects. One of the active IR thermography methods used in nondestructive testing is vibrothermography. The term vibrothermography was created in the 1990s to determine the thermal test procedures designed to assess the hidden heterogeneity of structural materials based on surface temperature fields at cyclical mechanical loads. A similar procedure can be done with sound and ultrasonic stimulation of the material, because the cause of an increase in temperature is internal friction between the wall defect and the stimulation mechanical waves. If the cyclic loading does not exceed the flexibility of the material and the rate of change is not large, the heat loss due to thermal conductivity is small, and the test object returns to its original shape and temperature. The most commonly used method is ultrasonic stimulation, and the testing technique is ultrasonic infrared thermography. Ultrasonic IR thermography is based on two basic phenomena. First, the elastic properties of defects differ from the surroundings, and acoustic damping and heating are always larger in the damaged regions than in the undamaged or homogeneous areas. Second, the heat transfer in the sample is dependent on its thermal properties. In this paper, both modelling and experimental results which illustrate the advantages and limitations of ultrasonic IR thermography in inspecting multi-layered aramide composite materials will be presented.

Citation Download Citation

Monika Pracht and Waldemar Swiderski "Detection of defects in multi-layered aramid composites by ultrasonic IR thermography", Proc. SPIE 10433, Electro-Optical and Infrared Systems: Technology and Applications XIV, 1043303 (6 October 2017); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2277110

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