Ultrasonic Inspection of Complex Composite Panels

A growing trend in the helicopter industry is the replacement of multiple small parts with fewer larger, more complex composite components. To assure the quality of high performance composite structures, ultrasonics is the most widely utilized post-manufacture inspection method. Larger complex components such as these pose some significant difficulties to the ultrasonic inspection process, which adversely impact inspection rates. This paper deals with some recent advances in ultrasonic systems to meet the inspection requirements imposed by these structures. Developments in the areas of robotics, ultrasonics, data acquisition and analysis will be presented, as it relates to the ultrasonic inspection process.