Inspection of composite laminate layup using shear ultrasonic waves
- Iowa State Univ., Ames, IA (United States)
The polarization of shear ultrasonic waves propagating through the thickness of a composite laminate interacts strongly with the orientation and sequence of the plies in a layup. Shear waves are therefore well suited for the inspection of anomalies in ply layup. The {open_quotes}crossed-polarizer{close_quotes} configuration, with the transmitting and receiving transducers perpendicular to each other, is particularly sensitive to subtle but realistic errors in ply layup. For example, the received shear wave signal changes greatly when merely one of the 45{degrees} plies in a 24-ply quasi-isotropic laminate is mistakenly placed at -45{degrees} instead. Shear waves are also sensitive to ply sequence, such as the symmetry, or lack there of, with respect to the midplane. In this work experimental results are interpreted based on a model that analyzes the decomposition and recombination of the shear wave polarization vector in a ply-by-ply fashion as it propagates through the laminate. Potential applications of this new technique for nondestructive evaluation and manufacturing control will be discussed.
- OSTI ID:
- 412062
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-960310--
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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