Energy analysis method for hidden damage detection
First Claim
1. A method of detecting hidden internal defects in a component comprising a multi layer material from a single side of a surface of the component, the method comprising:
- connecting at least one transducer to the component;
actuating the transducer to generate an ultrasonic guided wavefield in the multilayer material and on the surface of the multilayer material such that guided wave energy is trapped near the surface due to a first defect below the surface;
collecting wavefield data from the ultrasonic guided wavefield on the surface of the multi layer material at the single side, without contacting the multilayer material, using a non-contact laser Doppler vibrometer or an air-coupled ultrasound device;
processing the wavefield data, including calculating a cumulative amount of the guided wave energy trapped near the surface using the collected wavefield data; and
identifying and/or quantifying whether the multilayer material has hidden internal defects that are further from the surface than the first defect and overlap the first defect, including comparing the calculated cumulative guided wave energy to the known cumulative energy data for a sample set of the multilayer materials having known hidden internal defects.
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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.
1 Citation
19 Claims
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1. A method of detecting hidden internal defects in a component comprising a multi layer material from a single side of a surface of the component, the method comprising:
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connecting at least one transducer to the component; actuating the transducer to generate an ultrasonic guided wavefield in the multilayer material and on the surface of the multilayer material such that guided wave energy is trapped near the surface due to a first defect below the surface; collecting wavefield data from the ultrasonic guided wavefield on the surface of the multi layer material at the single side, without contacting the multilayer material, using a non-contact laser Doppler vibrometer or an air-coupled ultrasound device; processing the wavefield data, including calculating a cumulative amount of the guided wave energy trapped near the surface using the collected wavefield data; and identifying and/or quantifying whether the multilayer material has hidden internal defects that are further from the surface than the first defect and overlap the first defect, including comparing the calculated cumulative guided wave energy to the known cumulative energy data for a sample set of the multilayer materials having known 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 from a single side of the surface, the method comprising:
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applying a force to the multilayer material using a piezoelectric transducer such that an ultrasonic guided wave is excited in the multilayer material and on the surface of the multilayer material, and such that guided wave energy is trapped near the surface due to at least one hidden internal defect below the surface; measuring, from the single side using a laser Doppler vibrometer or an air-coupled ultrasound device that does not contact the multilayer material, a response of the surface to the applied force to provide measured surface response data, including calculating a cumulative amount of the guided wave energy trapped near the surface using the collected wavefield 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 the 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 at least one hidden internal defect at least partially overlie one another; and determining if the 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)
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Specification