A review of non-destructive techniques used for mechanical damage assessment in polymer composites

• Published in: Journal of materials science Vol. 53; no. 11; pp. 7915 - 7938
• Main Authors: Duchene, Pierre, Chaki, Salim, Ayadi, Abderrahmane, Krawczak, Patricia
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.06.2018; Springer; Springer Nature B.V; Springer Verlag
• Subjects: Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Chemistry and Materials Science; Classical Mechanics; Composite materials; Composite structures; Condensed Matter; Crack initiation; Crystallography and Scattering Methods; Damage assessment; Damage detection; Destructive testing; Diagnosis; Engineering Sciences; Fracture mechanics; Integrity; Load bearing elements; Maintenance costs; Materials; Materials and structures in mechanics; Materials Science; Mechanics; Nondestructive testing; Physics; Polymer industry; Polymer matrix composites; Polymer Sciences; Polymers; Review; Solid Mechanics; Structural damage; Wind turbines; Shearography; Infrared Thermography (IT); Glass Fibre Reinforced Polymer (GFRP); Matrix Cracking; Carbon Fibre Reinforced Plastic (CFRP)
• ISSN: 0022-2461; 1573-4803
• DOI: 10.1007/s10853-018-2045-6

Polymer composite materials are being increasingly used in primary load-bearing structures in several advanced industrial fields such as aerospace vessels, railway wagons and mega-scaled wind turbines where detection of subcritical damage initiation can significantly reduce safety issues and maintenance costs. It is therefore crucial to inspect these composite structures in order to assess their structural health and to ensure their integrity. Non-destructive testing techniques (NDT) are used for this purpose, making it possible to monitor mechanical damage of composite materials under in situ or ex situ service conditions. This paper reviews the capabilities of the most common NDT techniques used to inspect the integrity of composite materials. Each technique has a detection potential and cannot allow a full diagnosis of the mechanical damage state of the material. Thus, depending on the occurring damage mechanism and the conditions of use, one technique will be preferred over another, or several techniques should be combined to improve the diagnosis of the damage state of the structures.