Oleksii Karpenko

Optical transmission scanning for damage quantification in impacted GFRP composites

Glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) composites constitute nearly 90% of the global composites market and are extensively used in aerospace, marine, automotive and construction industries. While their advantages of lightweight and superior mechanical properties are well explored, non-destructive evaluation (NDE) techniques that allow for damage/defect detection and assessment of its extent and severity are not fully developed. Some of the conventional NDE techniques for GFRPs include ultrasonics, X-ray, IR thermography, and a variety of optical techniques. Optical methods, specifically measuring the transmission properties (e.g. ballistic optical imaging) of specimens, provide noninvasive, safe, inexpensive, and compact solutions and are commonly used in biomedical applications. In this work, this technique is adapted for rapid NDE of GFRP composites. In its basic form, the system for optical transmission scanning (OTS) consists of a light source (laser diode), a photo detector and a 2D translation stage. The proposed technique provides high-resolution, rapid and non-contact OT (optical transmittance)-scans, and does not require any coupling. The OTS system was used for inspection of pristine and low-velocity impacted (damaged) GFRP samples. The OT-scans were compared with conventional ultrasonic C-scans and showed excellent agreement but with better resolution. Overall, the work presented lays the groundwork for cost-effective, non-contact, and rapid NDE of GFRP composite structures.

Rapid non-contact inspection of composite ailerons using air-coupled ultrasound

This paper demonstrates an approach for rapid non-contact air-coupled ultrasonic inspection of composite ailerons with complex cross-sectional profile including thickness changes, curvature and the presence of a number of stiffeners. Low-frequency plate guided ultrasonic modes are used in B-scan mode for the measurements in pitch-catch mode. Appropriate probe holder angles suitable for generating and receiving lower order guided wave modes are discussed. Different embodiments of the pitch-catch tandem positions along and across stiffener and curved regions of the test sample enable a rapid test campaign capturing the feature-rich sample profile. Techniques to distinguish special features in the stiffener are presented.

A robust multi-frequency mixing algorithm for suppression of rivet signal in GMR inspection of riveted structures

The advent of Giant Magneto-Resistive (GMR) technology permits development of novel highly sensitive array probes for Eddy Current (EC) inspection of multi-layer riveted structures. Multi-frequency GMR measurements with different EC pene-tration depths show promise for detection of bottom layer notches at fastener sites. However, the distortion of the induced magnetic field due to flaws is dominated by the strong fastener signal, which makes defect detection and classification a challenging prob-lem. This issue is more pronounced for ferromagnetic fasteners that concentrate most of the magnetic flux. In the present work, a novel multi-frequency mixing algorithm is proposed to suppress rivet signal response and enhance defect detection capability of the GMR array probe. The algorithm is baseline-free and does not require any assumptions about the sample geometry being inspected. Fastener signal suppression is based upon the random sample consensus (RANSAC) method, which iteratively estimates parameters of a mathematical model from a set of observed data with outliers. Bottom layer defects at fastener site are simulated as EDM notches of different length. Performance of the proposed multi-frequency mixing approach is evaluated on finite element data and experimental GMR measurements obtained with unidirectional planar current excitation. Initial results are promising demonstrating the feasibility of the approach.The advent of Giant Magneto-Resistive (GMR) technology permits development of novel highly sensitive array probes for Eddy Current (EC) inspection of multi-layer riveted structures. Multi-frequency GMR measurements with different EC pene-tration depths show promise for detection of bottom layer notches at fastener sites. However, the distortion of the induced magnetic field due to flaws is dominated by the strong fastener signal, which makes defect detection and classification a challenging prob-lem. This issue is more pronounced for ferromagnetic fasteners that concentrate most of the magnetic flux. In the present work, a novel multi-frequency mixing algorithm is proposed to suppress rivet signal response and enhance defect detection capability of the GMR array probe. The algorithm is baseline-free and does not require any assumptions about the sample geometry being inspected. Fastener signal suppression is based upon the random sample consensus (RANSAC) method, which iteratively estimates parameters of ...

Monitoring of fatigue damage in composite lap-joints using guided waves and FBG sensors

Adhesive bonding is being increasingly employed in many applications as it offers possibility of light-weighting and efficient multi-material joining along with reduction in time and cost of manufacturing. However, failure initiation and progression in critical components like joints, specifically in fatigue loading is not well understood, which necessitates reliable NDE and SHM techniques to ensure structural integrity. In this work, concurrent guided wave (GW) and fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensor measurements were used to monitor fatigue damage in adhesively bonded composite lap-joints. In the present set-up, one FBG sensor was strategically embedded in the adhesive bond-line of a lap-joint, while two other FBGs were bonded on the surface of the adherends. Full spectral responses of FBG sensors were collected and compared at specific intervals of fatigue loading. In parallel, guided waves were actuated and sensed using PZT wafers mounted on the composite adherends. Experimental results demonstrated that...

Evaluation of progressive damage of nano-modified composite laminates under repeated impacts

However, studies on the effect of nano-reinforcements in repeated impact scenarios are relatively limited. This work investigates the effect of resin nanoclay modification on the impact resistance of glass-fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) composites subjected to repeated impacts. Three impact energy levels were used in experiments with a minimum of four specimens per case for statistical significance. Each sample was subjected to 40 repeated impacts or was tested up to perforation, whichever happened first. The impact response was evaluated in terms of evolution of the peak force, bending stiffness, visual damage inspection and optical transmission scanning (OTS) at critical stages as a function of number of impacts. Also, the damage degree (DD) was calculated to monitor the evolution of damage in the laminates. As expected, the impact response of the GFRP composites varied based on the presence of nano-clay and the applied impact energy. The modification of the resin with nano-clay introduced novel phenomena that changed the damage progression mechanism under repetitive impacts, which was verified by visual observation and optical transmission scanning. A better understanding of these phenomena (e.g. crack-bridging, tortuosity) and their contributions to enhancements in the impact behavior and modifications of the types of damage propagation can lead to better design of novel structural composites.

Multitechnique monitoring of fatigue damage in adhesively bonded composite lap-joints

The requirement for reduced structural weight has driven the development of adhesively bonded joints. However, a major issue preventing their full acceptance is the initiation of premature failure in the form of a disbond between adherends, mainly due to fatigue, manufacturing flaws or impact damage. This work presents the integrated approach for in-situ monitoring of degradation of the adhesive bond in the GFRP composite lap-joint using ultrasonic guided waves and dynamic measurements from strategically embedded FBG sensors. Guided waves are actuated with surface mounted piezoelectric elements and mode tuning is used to provide high sensitivity to the degradation of the adhesive layer parameters. Composite lap-joints are subjected to fatigue loading, and data from piezoceramic transducers are collected at regular intervals to evaluate the progression of damage. Results demonstrate that quasi-static loading affects guided wave measurements considerably, but FBG sensors can be used to monitor the applied l...

Feasibility of PZT ceramics for impact damage detection in composite structures

Fiber reinforced plastic composites are becoming widely used in vehicles and airframe structures due to their high strength to weight ratio. However unlike metals, the multilayered composite structures are more susceptible to damage mechanisms such as disbonds and delaminations due to impacts. It is often difficult to visually detect the damage. Lead-Zirconate-Titanate (PZT) thin films are becoming popular for in-situ structural health monitoring due to their small size, high piezoelectric coupling coefficient, and ease of surface-mounting and/or embedding in composite structures. A network of such transducers could be utilized for damage detection using guided wave techniques, impedance techniques, or passive impact detection techniques. However, the PZT films are subject to the same impact probabilities that the structure encounters. If the transducers fail due to the subjected impacts, they can result in false readings and ultimately failing to correctly detect damage in the structure. This paper prese...

Image processing algorithms for automated analysis of GMR data from inspection of multilayer structures

Eddy current probes (EC) with Giant Magnetoresistive (GMR) sensors have recently emerged as a promising tool for rapid scanning of multilayer aircraft panels that helps detect cracks under fastener heads. However, analysis of GMR data is challenging due to the complexity of sensed magnetic fields. Further, probes that induce unidirectional currents are insensitive to cracks parallel to the current flow. In this paper, signal processing algorithms are developed for mixing data from two orthogonal EC-GMR scans in order to generate pseudo-rotating electromagnetic field images of fasteners with bottom layer cracks. Finite element simulations demonstrate that the normal component of numerically computed rotating field has uniform sensitivity to cracks emanating in all radial directions. The concept of pseudo-rotating field imaging is experimentally validated with the help of MAUS bilateral GMR array (Big-MR) designed by Boeing.

Lamb Wave Based Monitoring of Delamination Growth in Mode I and Mode II Fracture Tests

A new method to monitor the delamination onset and growth in Mode I and Mode II interlaminar fracture tests using Lamb waves is proposed. Double cantilever beam (DCB) and end notch flexure (ENF) specimens made of 8-layer glass-fiber/epoxy (GF/EP) reinforced composite laminates were used as standard samples in the experimental studies. Fundamental A0 mode was actuated in all samples with a pair of collocated piezoelectric transducers and sensing was performed in a pitch-catch configuration using a single surface bonded piezo-element on the opposite side with delamination. It was determined that the amplitude and phase of the received A0 mode wave packets had high sensitivity to both Mode I and Mode II delamination onsets. Besides, the crack length was continuously monitored using the mode conversion effect and relative group velocity change of the A0 mode. The transition points, extracted from the ultrasonic waveforms, correlated well with load–displacement curves used for determining interlaminar fracture toughness. Similar approach can be easily extended to study/monitor adhesively bonded joints.