JR Centre for Thermal Non-destructive Evaluation of Composites

This JR Centre researches methods for the non-destructive testing of composite materials, which pose a particular challenge due to their heterogeneous composition. Possible areas of application are the aviation and automotive industries.

Non-destructive testing (NDT) makes it possible to assess the condition of materials and components in terms of their material and geometric properties without influencing them. By identifying defects at an early stage, serious damage to the component can be avoided. The emerging method of thermographic NDT has the potential to detect defects early and efficiently. The key features of thermographic NDT are non-contact thermal excitation and measurement data acquisition, the ability to quickly inspect large surfaces and the determination of thermal properties and interfaces of materials.

The main objective of the JR Centre is the further development of thermographic NDT with regard to the detection and identification of defects in composite materials during production and maintenance. A major challenge for the model-based reconstruction of defects and damage is the heterogeneous material structure of composite materials. The combination of mega-pixel infrared cameras, spatially and temporally modulated optical laser excitation and multi-dimensional reconstruction methods should expand the areas of application, especially with regard to the aviation and automotive industries. Fundamental requirements for the identification of defects are mathematical models that describe the heat transport in composite materials on different length scales, as well as the design of an optimal experiment for the determination of unknown material and defect properties. In future, thermographic NDT methods should be able to be used to determine the material condition and to estimate the service life of the component.