In-Field Composite Damage Assessment

Pacific-Sierra Research Corporation (PSR) will develop an automated thermographic system capable of conducting nondestructive inspections for assessing damage of in-fleet composite rocket motor cases/airframes. This includes a quantitative evaluation model of defects in metals and composite materials. This non-contact thermographic system will include a portable high speed infrared camera with enough spatial resolution, thermal senstivity, and modern image-processing tools to characterize life-limiting flaws, such as delaminations and impact damage in composites, as well as hidden corrosion in structural components. The methodology consists of subjecting the specimen surface to a thermal excitation and dynamically collecting the heat flow pattern by means of infrared images in a time sequence. The two-dimensional time history of the surface temperature is then used to detect and quantify the substructure of the material. The proposed system will greatly reduce the time and cost of inspection of fleet composite structures. PSR has contacted an interested Phase III development partner for this technology.