Energy Analysis Method for Hidden Damage Detection
First Claim
1. A method of detecting hidden internal defects in a component comprising a multilayer material from a single side of a surface of the component, the method comprising:
- connecting at least one transducer to a component comprising a multilayer material having a surface;
actuating the transducer to generate a wavefield on the surface of the multilayer material such that energy is trapped near the surface due to a first defect below the surface;
collecting wavefield data from the wavefield on the surface of the multilayer material;
processing the wavefield data to provide measured energy data;
comparing the measured energy data to the known energy data for a multilayer material having known hidden internal defects to determine if the multilayer material has hidden internal defects that are further from the surface than the first defect and overlap the first defect and/or to quantify such hidden internal defects.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method of detecting internal defects in composites or other multilayer materials includes generating a wavefield on a surface of the material. Wavefield data is collected from the wavefield on the surface, and the measured wavefield data is processed to provide measured energy data. The method may include generating simulated or predicted energy data for the multilayer material that is compared to the simulated energy data to determine if the multilayer material has internal defects or damage below the surface. The method can be utilized to detect and/or quantify damage or other defects that are “hidden” by damage that is closer to the surface of the material.
5 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method of detecting hidden internal defects in a component comprising a multilayer material from a single side of a surface of the component, the method comprising:
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connecting at least one transducer to a component comprising a multilayer material having a surface; actuating the transducer to generate a wavefield on the surface of the multilayer material such that energy is trapped near the surface due to a first defect below the surface; collecting wavefield data from the wavefield on the surface of the multilayer material; processing the wavefield data to provide measured energy data; comparing the measured energy data to the known energy data for a multilayer material having known hidden internal defects to determine if the multilayer material has hidden internal defects that are further from the surface than the first defect and overlap the first defect and/or to quantify such hidden internal defects. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A method of detecting internal defects in a multilayer material having a surface, the method comprising:
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applying a force to the multilayer material; measuring a response of the surface to the applied force to provide measured surface response data; comparing the measured surface response data to known data that correlates surface responses for the multilayer material to internal defects in the material, the known data corresponding to at least one outer internal defect and at least one hidden internal defect that is disposed a greater distance from the surface than the outer internal defect, and wherein the outer internal defect and the hidden internal defect at least partially overlie one another; and determining if at least one hidden internal defect is present and/or quantifying at least one hidden internal defect by comparing the measured surface response data to the known data. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification