Shearography non-destructive testing and defect characterisation of thick composite structures

THICK composite materials, e.g., thickness of more than 50 mm, are increasingly being used across diverse industry sectors owing to their significant advantages of weightsavings, superiormaterial properties and load-carrying capability. These materials tend to be adopted in safety-critical applications such as large primary or secondary load-bearing structures, where mechanical failures would result in serious consequences. However, various defects and damage may occur in thick composites that endanger structural integrity and safety severely. Hence to improve the maintenance, safety and reliability of these structures, it is crucial to develop inspection methods capable of defect detection and characterisation for composite structures of significant thickness. To date, the nondestructive testing and evaluation (NDT&E) of thick composite structures still remain an urgent challenge due to their material and structural complexity, significant thicknesses, and the presence of various manufacturing and in-service defects....