A new method for ultrasonic detection of peel ply at the bondline of out-of-autoclave composite assemblies

Abstract

Out-of-autoclave materials have long been an established material system for secondary structural applications; however, recent advancements in material properties allow for more advanced structural applications. Even though certain out-of-autoclave properties have achieved parity with autoclaved cured materials, out-of-autoclave materials are cured at reduced temperatures and pressures resulting in less compaction and homogeneity. The consequence is extraneous ultrasonic signals, due to internal reflections and refractions that cause attenuation, potentially masking defects leading to unidentifiable indications. Advanced algorithms were developed to improve the signal to noise ratio between constituents of similar acoustic impedance in bonded out-of-autoclave carbon fiber reinforced polymer assemblies. Conventional ultrasonic nondestructive testing techniques and analysis software cannot consistently achieve signal to noise ratios that meet quantifiable rejection thresholds of accurately sized peel ply inserts at the bonded interface of composite assemblies. Ultrasonic pulse echo with full waveform capture was used to inspect a reference standard with peel ply inserts placed between the adhesive and three-dimensional-woven fabric preform. The ultrasonic signal was produced by a 64 element array transducer with a central frequency of 2.8 MHz. Waveform post-acquisition analysis with post processing software was used to analyze and enhance the signal response between the peel ply and the bondline resulting in the final algorithm. To verify the results, the signal to noise ratio of each insert was calculated for both the raw and processed data. As the measure of detectability, the method relies on principles of statistical measurement to provide an industry standard signal to noise response of 3:1.