The performance of defect detection in composite materials using digital shearography is important for correct decisionmaking in non-destructive testing. In this work, we compared a high-resolution 24-megapixel digital still camera (DSLR) and a conventional medium-resolution 5-megapixel camera to determine the detectability of blind holes in an aerospacegraded carbon-fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) sample. The hole diameters ranged from 0.2 to 3 mm with a material thickness of 4 mm and the test sample dimensions of 200×200 mm. The sample was heated and observed from the front (defect-free side) by three halogen lamps for 5 minutes in pulsed heating mode. Speckle interferograms were acquired during the heating and cooling phases from both cameras simultaneously using identical shearing interferometers and shearing distances. Phase maps were calculated using the 4+4 temporal phase step algorithm and then unwrapped. Further, defect-induced deformation (DID) phase maps were obtained by polynomial curve fitting. The DID phase maps obtained from the two cameras were compared. Blind holes with diameters up to 1 mm were detected, which are one of the smallest defects detected with shearography and reported in literature. In addition, the DLSR camera was able to detect holes of 0.8 mm in diameter. We observed that nearly comparable detection capabilities were obtained from both cameras, even though the spatial resolution of the second camera (DLSR) was 5 times higher. Possible reasons of this limitation include effects such as fiber-related deformation in CFRP and speckle noise.
The assessment of the structural condition of cultural heritage objects is important for conservation interventions and their long-term preservation. This investigation concerns The Night Watch (1642), a large-format 17th-century canvas painting by Rembrandt van Rijn that is on display in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. This painting, which has a complex treatment history, has various damaged areas and has undergone three wax-resin relinings. In 1975 the canvas was slashed twelve times with a serrated dinner knife, including several long slashes in the area of Captain Frans Banninck Cocq’s breeches. In 2021, prior to a proposed new structural intervention involving retensioning of the canvas, it was important to evaluate the structural condition of the repaired slashes and of another repair, specifically an old canvas insert in the drum. For this, an in-situ inspection was carried out in the Rijksmuseum as a part of Operation Nightwatch. 3D shearography instrument with thermal loading was used to inspect these two areas of interest on the reverse of The Night Watch. The results showed that the out-of-plane strain in the breeches does not show any large deviations, which alleviated conservators’ concerns about the adhesion of the lining canvas and stability of previous repairs in this region. The patch in the drum showed higher out-of-plane strain variations. This was explained by the lower quality of the patched canvas compared to the repaired slashes in the breeches of Banninck Cocq. Overall, 3D shearography provided valuable inspection results for assurances regarding the structural integrity of the 1975 repairs and the wax-resin lining in The Night Watch, reducing the risks and providing the confidence to proceed with the planned retensioning of the canvas.
Structural delamination in mural paintings is a complex phenomenon and is considered among the most frequent types of damage. In conservation practice, the most common technique to identify structural detachments in wall paintings is the percussion method, otherwise known as the ‘tap and listen’ approach. Full-field optical techniques based on interferometry, such as shearography, can potentially provide a more scientifically substantiated evaluation of the condition of heterogeneous structures of wall paintings. The empirical nature of the percussion method was observed during the condition assessment of two medieval wall paintings in Maria Church, Nisse, Netherlands. Consequently, the need to obtain more knowledge regarding the structural condition of these wall paintings was established. Furthermore, to allow the formulation of specific treatment needs for structural delamination in wall paintings, accurate defect mapping is needed. The application of shearography coupled with thermography was believed to provide an holistic representation of the structural condition of the wall painting depicting St. Christopher in Maria Church. A comparison of the practical execution and the interpretation of data between shearography and the percussion method was conducted to deliver a description of both techniques. Initial comparison of the two methods confirmed what was already hypothesised: I) the percussion method can provide an approximate indication of delaminated areas. Results, which are considered both non-qualitative and non-quantitative, are dependent on the experience of the conservator; II) shearography can produce qualitative and quantitative results regarding the presence of delamination in complex structures of wall paintings. Analysis of the shearography data together with the percussion method may result in a reliable way to map the defects for future conservation activities. The next steps include optimisation of the thermal excitation for shearography to maximise the defect detection and adapt the shearography output for onsite interpretation by conservators and professionals in the cultural heritage.
With the increasing application of thick composites in marine, wind energy and aerospace industries, the inspection of thick composites becomes more and more challenging when considering the variety of thick structures (e.g., laminate, sandwich, honeycomb structures). Shearography is a full-field and non-contact optical non-destructive testing (NDT) method which is normally used to inspect composite laminates up to 10 mm while for the thick composite laminates (e.g., with the thickness of more than 50 mm), its performance is not clear yet. In shearography NDT, a defect-induced anomaly is revealed from fringe or phase maps obtained by comparing two states of deformation of the specimen to be inspected. Thermal loading is widely used to deform the specimen due to its advantages of convenience for on-site inspection and cost-effectiveness. The objective of this study is to improve the defect detection capabilities of shearography when used to inspect thick composites. For that, spatial modulated thermal excitations are investigated. A thick composite model has been built in Abaqus to assist the shearography inspection. Various kinds of spatially modulated heating including local heating and global heating are explored for thick composite inspection with shearography in order to evaluate the corresponding efficacies in defect detection. We will present both experimental and numerical results on spatial modulated thermal loading. Defect-induced shearographic responses subjected to local and global thermal excitations will be discussed in this paper, including the influence of short-time heating and long-time heating on thick composite inspection. Current results indicate that long-time heating is more favorable when inspecting deep defects in thick composites, and with local heating it is possible to increase the defect-induced signal when compared with global heating.
The objective of this case study is to characterise and to numerically assess the volume of impact damages in composite laminates with multiple non-destructive testing techniques. Reliable and robust assessments of the damage volume will be used as input and validation data for the existing and developing numerical models of composite materials.
In everyday work, researchers in the area of composite materials mostly use 2D assessment of the damaged area acquired with conventional inspection methods as ultrasonic c-scan. This practice is supported by the relative simplicity of the data analysis carried in 2D. It is proposed to assess the damage volume in 3D which may serve as a more reliable criterion to improve coupling with the numerical modelling.
In this paper micro X-ray computed tomography (CT) was used as the reference technique for the damage volume assessment and comparison with an industrial ultrasonic c-scan. In addition, for this case study, ultrasonic phased array technique with the full matrix capture algorithms was used for the inspection together with shearography (speckle pattern shearing interferometry). A comparison of all techniques referenced to the CT data formed the guidance for their applicability. In addition, an attempt to fuse the multiple assessments was made to support the comparison of 2D and 3D inspection techniques.
For the experimental part, carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) specimens of three layups were manufactured and damaged with 4 different impact energies in the range of 18-45 J. The layups were orthotropic, quasi-isotropic and a novel one adapted for the impact events. In total 12 specimens were inspected with multiple non-destructive testing techniques to numerically assess the volume of the impact damages. 3 additional specimens were used to assess the repeatability of the damage in the specimens with the same layup and impact energy. 3D CT reconstructions were made by a rotation of specimens using a cone-beam system with the voxel side size of 50 μm. A developed automatic segmentation algorithm was used for the damage volume estimation in all specimens. The phased array inspection was made with a full-matrix capture technique with the frequencies of 2.25 and 5 MHz. An available 3D shape shearography setup was used to characterise the damages both with the in- and out-of-plane surface strains with a thermal loading of the specimen.
Future developments include the comparison of the inspection results together with the numerical modelling predictions and with residual strength after the impact.
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