Because of the growing use of fiber composites in a variety of applications including hull material of small marine craft, there is a need for inexpensive quantitative, nondestructive evaluation techniques for fiberglass, as well as for other composite materials to provide a basis for ensuring the integrity and serviceability of products made from them. The economic incentives for use of such a technique would be widespread. MIT's Department of Mechanical Engineering had developed a non-destructive thermal testing technique to detect flaws in fiberglass composites. The technique involves uniform application of heat to one side of a composite structure that has been coated with a cholesteric liquid crystal compound. The temperature rise causes the liquid crystal to change color. Anomalies in the pattern of surface temperature, indicative of various kinds of internal flows, show up as anomalies in the pattern of color change in the liquid crystal coating. (DePo)


    Access

    Access via TIB

    Check availability in my library


    Export, share and cite



    Title :

    Nondestructive evaluation of fiber composites


    Additional title:

    Zerstoerungsfreie Pruefung von Faserverbundwerkstoffen


    Contributors:

    Published in:

    Publication date :

    1980


    Size :

    26 Seiten


    Type of media :

    Report


    Type of material :

    Print


    Language :

    English