SAMPE Journal - May/June 2020 - 44

FEATURE

V-22 Osprey undergoing a large area (~80 sq ft) inspection overlaid onto the fuselage. The overlay is comprised of 36 thermographic images automatically stitched together, and the zoomed image shows a skin-to-frame section. The entire inspection
was performed in under 12 minutes.

NONDESTRUCTIVE INSPECTION
Quantitative Comparison of Close-Proximity and
Large-Standoff Thermography for Nondestructive
Inspection of Carbon Epoxy Composites
Maria F. Beemer, Steven M. Shepard
Thermal Wave Imaging
Ferndale, MI 48220

ABSTRACT

A

s a result of the integration of carbon fiber / epoxy matrix materials into aerospace and particularly space
vehicles, there has been considerable emphasis on the ability of Nondestructive Testing (NDT) methods
to adapt to inspection of large areas, where established NDT methods, in which an apparatus must be scanned
over the surface of a large part manually or using gantries, robots or creepers, are often too slow or expensive be practical. In recent years, flash thermography (FT) has gained wide acceptance as a primary method
for Nondestructive Testing (NDT) of polymer composite structures, with a key advantage being its ability to
inspect what has been considered to be a large area (~1 sq. ft.) when compared to point scan methods (e.g.
ultrasound). However, in the context of large aerospace structures on the scale of hundreds or even thousands
of square feet, the concept of large-area inspection must be reconsidered.
A recently introduced approach, Large-Standoff, Large-Area Thermography (LASLAT), projects a longer
excitation pulse from a halogen lamp over a larger working distance (10 - 15 ft). The LASLAT field of view is
larger (~20" x 15") than that of FT, but with the added advantage that the field of view can be scanned over a
larger inspection area using only pan and tilt degrees of freedom, eliminating the need for a gantry or robot
when inspecting large structures and significantly reducing inspection time.
In this study, we compare flaw detection performance of FT and LASLAT approaches on a carbon epoxy
sample that represent common delamination and evaluate depth range using a flat-bottom hole target. Metrics for comparison include signal-to-noise and inspection time.

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SAMPE Journal - May/June 2020

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