Inspection methods for quality control of fibre metal laminates (FML) in aerospace components
Krzysztof Dragan, Jarosław Bieniaś, Andrzej Leski, Andrzej Czulak, Werner Hufenbach
Quarterly No. 4, 2012 pages 272-278
DOI:
keywords: Fiber Metal Laminates, non destructive testing, failure modes in composites
abstract The advantages of FML structures (e.g. GLARE or CARAL) come from the improvement in durability of such structures, however, in such structures failure modes may also occur. Failure modes which may occur in such structures are similar to those in epoxy composites but some of them are associated with fracture mechanics similar to e.g. aluminium alloys. The quality control of materials and structures in aircraft is an important issue, also for FML laminates. For FML parts, a 100% non-destructive inspection for internal quality during the manufacturing process is required. In the case of FML composites, the most significant defects that should be detected by non-destructive testing are porosity, delaminations and cracks. In this paper, the use of non-destructive different methods for the inspection of Fibre Metal Laminates was presented. The novelty in the approach will include the use of multimode and highly specialized inspection methods such as: ultrasonics, thermography, air-coupled ultrasonics, and X-ray tomography.