Eddy Current Inspection of Thick Carbon Fiber Reinforced Composites

Abstract

The goal of the work to be described is the development of a through- transmission eddy current method to detect broken-fiber damage and to measure the remaining ligament in large, filament-wound graphite epoxy cylinders. These cylinders may have wall thickness as great as 10 inches and diameters on the order of 100 inches. A significant factor in the development work is the present unavailability of such large cylinders. A system developed to address the available "small" cylinders (wall thicknesses < 1.0 inch and diameters < 10 inch) must be equally applicable to cylinders that are larger by a factor of 10. Careful consideration must be given to the scale-up potential of the system.