On the use of infrared thermography as NDT of aerospace materials

Abstract

Aeronautical structures are manufactured in a large range of materials like metallic, plastic or composite. The maintenance of aerospace structures consists in conventional inspections using different Non-Destructive Evaluation (NDE) methods in order to maximize the structure life and safety. LEISC (Laboratory for Integrity Evaluation of Composite Structures) from the POLITEHNICA University of Bucharest is currently developing NDE methods based on the ultrasonic guided Lamb waves propagation and on the infrared thermography (IRT), methods also adapted for composite and sandwich structures. The present study focuses on the aid provided by the infrared thermography for non-destructive evaluation of aerospace materials and structures. Several samples were manufactured and tested. They consist in different materials employed in aerospace structures (metals, plexiglass, composites, hybrid composites, sandwiches) and include the most commonly encountered kinds of damages (inclusions, loss of material, delaminations, impact damages). Some results concerning the use of the Infrared Thermography (IRT) for monitoring the integrity of different type of materials used in aerospace structures are presented. Both passive and active thermography applications with