OVERVIEW OF DTI-FUNDED PROGRAM ON STANDARDIZED PROCEDURES FOR ULTRASONIC INSPECTION OF POLYMER MATRIX COMPOSITES

The increasing use of composite materials in critical structural compo nents combined with stringent requirements for safety and quality assu rance has resulted in considerable in vestment in the development of n on-destructive evaluation (NDE) methods suited to the characterisation of these heterogenous materials. A number of techniques have been dev eloped, of which ultrasonic C-scan inspection is the most widely used This technique can be used to detect, measure and characterise a wide range of manufacturing and in-service defects in composite materials, At present, there are no universally accepted standards or procedures for ultrasonic C-scan inspection of composites, and as a result of thi s absence, the reliability and traceability of this method have been l imited.