This paper Experimental Validation of Ultrasonic Nondestructive Evaluation of Residual Service Life of Fibreglass Reinforced Plastic Structures was presented at CAMX 2015.
Authors:
- Z. H. Zhu, Department of Earth and Space Science and Engineering, York University, Ontario, Canada
- L. Murugathasan, Department of Earth and Space Science and Engineering, York University, Ontario, Canada
- G. E. Clarkson, UTComp Inc., Cambridge, Ontario, Canada
Abstract
Defects in Fiberglass Reinforced Plastic structures differ from the traditional structural materials, because internal damages in the FRP are not visible to inspectors until the catastrophic failure occurs. Therefore, it is critical to find not only the internal defects but also the residual service life of the composite structures in service without physically damaging the structures. Most of the existing non-destructive ultrasonic testing technologies are only able to detect the defects in the composite structures. They are unable to predict the residual service life of the defected or aging composite structures based on the ultrasonic testing results. This paper validated experimentally a unique and innovative ultrasonic nondestructive technology to inspect FRP structures and determine their residual service life without damaging the structures. The proposed technology determines physical properties of FRP using the nondestructive ultrasonic proprietary testing technology.