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Licensed Unlicensed Requires Authentication Published by De Gruyter May 28, 2013

Analysis Techniques for Eddy Current Imaging of Carbon Fiber Materials*

Analysetechniken für die Wirbelstromprüfung von CFK-Materialien
  • Martin H. Schulze , Norbert Meyendorf and Henning Heuer
From the journal Materials Testing

Abstract

Carbon fiber materials become more and more important for many applications. Unlike metal the technological parameters and certified quality control mechanisms for Raw Carbon Fiber Materials (RCF) have not yet been developed. There is no efficient and reliable testing system for in-line inspections and consecutive manual inspections of RCF and post laminated Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastics (CFRP). Based upon the multi-frequency eddy current system developed at Fraunhofer IZFP, structural and hidden defects such as missing carbon fiber bundles, lanes, suspensions, fringes, missing sewing threads, and angle errors can be detected. Using an optimized sensor array and intelligent image pre-processing algorithms, the complex impedance signal can be allocated to different carbon fiber layers. This technique enables the detection of defects in depths of up to 5 layers, including the option of free scale measuring resolution and testing frequency. Appropriate parameter lists for optimal error classifications are available. The dimensions of the smallest detectable flaws are in the range of a few millimeters. Algorithms and basic Eddy Current C-Scan processing techniques for carbon fiber material testing are described in this paper.

Kurzfassung

Kohlefaserkompositmaterialien (CFK) gewinnen in verschiedensten Leichtbauanwendungen zunehmend als Funktionselemente an Bedeutung. Im Unterschied zu metallischen Werkstoffen befindet sich die Erprobung technologischer Verfahrensparameter sowie eine entsprechend zertifizierte Qualitätssicherung für CFK-Materialien noch im Entwicklungsstadium. Für die Inlineinspektion sowie die manuelle Kontrolle von unlaminiertem Rohgelege sowie dem verharzten Komposit existiert noch keine adäquate Prüflösung. Basierend auf dem am Fraunhofer Institut für Zerstörungsfreie Prüfverfahren (IZFP) in Dresden entwickelten Wirbelstromprüfverfahren und angepassten Analysemethoden konnte nun die Mehrzahl von auftretenden Fehlern, die während der Produktion und Verarbeitung des Rohgeleges zum Kompositmaterial entstehen können, sichtbar gemacht werden. Dazu zählen Gassen, fehlende Faserbündel, Aufschiebungen, Ausfransungen, fehlende Nähfäden, Winkelabweichungen sowie Delaminationen und Lagenbrüche. Durch die Hilfe einer optimierten Sensorgestaltung sowie einer intelligenten Bildvorverarbeitung können die komplexen Wirbelstromimpedanzen und deren Fehlersignale den verschiedenen Lagen zugeordnet werden.


*

English Version of the Contribution to the Conference Materials Testing 2009

Martin Schulze was born in 1982. He studied Electrical Engineering at the University of Cooperative Education, Business College Bautzen. In 2005 he received his Diplom. After a guest audition of a lecture in Micro- and Nanotesting at the Technical University Dresden he became a research assistant at the Fraunhofer-Institute for Non-Destructive Testing, IZFP in Dresden. Since 2007 he is a development engineer in the topic of eddy-current testing (ECT). His work is focused on new testing methods for carbon fiber components with the help of ECT. He is also the project leader for the development of a new algorithm to quantify cracks in airplane aluminium structures.

Dr. Heuer received his PhD in electrical engineering and microelectronics in 2005. Currently he heads the business unit Microelectronics, Microsystem Engineering & Nanotechnology and the department Sensors & Sensor Systems of the Fraunhofer Institute for Non-Destructive Testing in Dresden. The department is focused to the development of inspection techniques for new generations of materials and technical structures. Dr. Heuer's main interest is dedicated to eddy current and ultrasonic sensors and sensor systems. With his strong background in semiconductors and their packaging and assembly technologies, his team successfully developed high frequency phased array matrix sensors including PZT composite (up to 20 MHz) and thin film transducers for up to 500 MHz. In addition, new solutions for eddy current based inspection systems were developed, e. g. the high-frequency eddy current device platform EddyCus (up to 100 MHz) and a high-resolving EC array for fast inline inspection applications.

Prof. Dr. Norbert G. H. Meyendorf was born in 1953. He received his PhD in 1980 and his ScD in 1986. Since 2003 he teaches Materials Engineering at the University of Dayton/USA. He also has a professorship for Micro- and Nanotesting at the Technical University Dresden. Since 2004 he is the Head of Fraunhofer-Institute for Non-Destructive Testing, IZFP Dresden Branch.


References

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Published Online: 2013-05-28
Published in Print: 2010-09-01

© 2010, Carl Hanser Verlag, München

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