Inspection methods for quality control of fibre metal laminates in aerospace components
Krzysztof Dragan, Jarosław Bieniaś, Michał Sałaciński, Piotr Synaszko
Quarterly No. 2, 2011 pages 130-135
DOI:
keywords: Fiber Metal Laminates, Non Destructive Testing, failure modes in composites
abstract Composite materials have been applied in aerospace structures in recent years. Presently, the new generation of structu¬ral composite materials for advanced aircraft are Fibre Metal Laminates (FML). They are hybrid composites consisting of alternating thin layers of metal sheets and fiber-reinforced composite material. FMLs have both low density and good mechanical properties (high damage tolerance: fatigue and impact characteristics, corrosion and fire resistance). The quality control of the materials and structures in aircraft is an important issue, also for FMLs. For FML parts, a 100% non-destructive inspection for the internal quality during the manufacturing process is required. In the case of FML composites, the most relevant defects that should be detected by non-destructive testing are porosity and delaminations. In this paper, the use of non-destructive different methods for the inspection of Fibre Metal Laminates were studied. The possibility of quality control of manufactured FML by means of defect detection procedures and processes are presented and discussed.