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Non-destructive testing and evaluation of composite materials/structures: A state-of-the-art review

Wang, Bing; Zhong, Shuncong; Lee, Tung Lik; Fancey, Kevin; Mi, Jiawei

Authors

Bing Wang

Shuncong Zhong

Tung Lik Lee



Abstract

Composite materials/structures are advancing in product efficiency, cost-effectiveness and the development of superior specific properties. There are increasing demands in their applications to load-carrying structures in aerospace, wind turbines, transportation, medical equipment and so on. Thus, robust and reliable non-destructive testing of composites is essential to reduce safety concerns and maintenance costs. There have been various non-destructive testing methods built upon different principles for quality assurance during the whole lifecycle of a composite product. This article reviews the most established non-destructive testing techniques for detection and evaluation of defects/damage evolution in composites. These include acoustic emission, ultrasonic testing, infrared thermography, terahertz testing, shearography, digital image correlation, as well as X-ray and neutron imaging. For each non-destructive testing technique, we cover a brief historical background, principles, standard practices, equipment and facilities used for composite research. We also compare and discuss their benefits and limitations and further summarise their capabilities and applications to composite structures. Each non-destructive testing technique has its own potential and rarely achieves a full-scale diagnosis of structural integrity. Future development of non-destructive testing techniques for composites will be directed towards intelligent and automated inspection systems with high accuracy and efficient data processing capabilities.

Citation

Wang, B., Zhong, S., Lee, T. L., Fancey, K., & Mi, J. (2020). Non-destructive testing and evaluation of composite materials/structures: A state-of-the-art review. Advances in Mechanical Engineering, 12(4), 1-28. https://doi.org/10.1177/1687814020913761

Journal Article Type Review
Acceptance Date Feb 25, 2020
Online Publication Date Apr 9, 2020
Publication Date Apr 9, 2020
Deposit Date May 12, 2020
Publicly Available Date May 13, 2020
Journal Advances in Mechanical Engineering
Print ISSN 1687-8132
Publisher SAGE Publications (UK and US)
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 12
Issue 4
Pages 1-28
DOI https://doi.org/10.1177/1687814020913761
Keywords Non-destructive testing; Composite materials; Structures; Defects; Damage; Detection and evaluation; Structural health monitoring
Public URL https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/3468202
Publisher URL https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1687814020913761

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Copyright Statement
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits any use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).







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