Abstract
Natural fibers, including mineral and plant fibers, are increasingly used for polymer composite materials due to their low environmental impact. In this paper, thermographic non-destructive inspection techniques were used to evaluate and characterize basalt, jute/hemp and bagasse fibers composite panels. Different defects were analyzed in terms of impact damage, delaminations and resin abnormalities. Of particular interest, homogeneous particleboards of sugarcane bagasse, a new plant fiber material, were studied. Pulsed phase thermography and principal component thermography were used as the post-processing methods. In addition, ultrasonic C-scan and continuous wave terahertz imaging were also carried out on the mineral fiber laminates for comparative purposes. Finally, an analytical comparison of different methods was given.
Highlights
Basalt, as a mineral material, can be obtained from volcanic rocks which are originated from frozen lava with a melting temperature in the range of 1500 ◦ C to 1700 ◦ C [1]
Ultrasonic C-scan testing (UT) experiments were conducted in reflection mode; water was used as the wedge and the back wall signals were used for imaging
The resin-rich areas B and F were detected at the depth of 0.85 mm (Figure 8d,f) in the clearest view; they were not detected at the depth of 1 mm (Figure 8g,i)
Summary
As a mineral material, can be obtained from volcanic rocks which are originated from frozen lava with a melting temperature in the range of 1500 ◦ C to 1700 ◦ C [1]. Basalt fiber shows similar mechanical properties and several advantages (see Table 1) It has been considered as an alternative reinforcement for composite materials which can be used in marine, automotive, sporting equipment and civil sectors [8]. Jute/hemp fibers polymer composites have acceptable mechanical properties for many applications such as furnitures, they are still not suitable to some specific fields such as acting as a type of building material. In this regard, particleboards (PBs) and medium density fiberboards (MDFs), which are practical and cheap alternatives to solid wood, have become leading building materials in the past decade [9]. An analytical comparison of different thermographic techniques for natural fiber-reinforced polymer composites inspection was given
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