Composite Bond Testing

C-Scan imaging have been widely used for the detection and sizing of indications in most conventional UT applications, providing more intuitive analysis schemes. However, similar imaging has not been used in NDT of composite structures in aerospace applications when using specialized bond testing equipment.

Adhesive-bonded components are widely used in the aerospace industry, therefore requiring reliable NDT inspection technologies and methods to ensure the quality of these parts. Although ultrasonic Through-Transmission (TT), Pulse-Echo (PE) and Guided Waves (GW) have been used successfully for the inspection of bonded components of aerospace structure, new advanced and dedicated Bond Testing (BT) instruments using specialized analysis techniques proved to be adequate for the detection of bonding defects.

TecScan’s automated BT solution goes beyond alarm-on-signal detection, this solution provides real C-Scan imaging and displays C-Scan of the inspected parts allowing for more intuitive and accurate analysis in terms of disbond defect detection, defect sizing and positioning. TecScan’s BT solution has the ability to display C-Scans based on triggered alarm information; alarms selected to detect specific phase angle ranges can be used to map defects depth.