Aerogel to simulate delamination and porosity defects in carbon-fiber reinforced polymer composites Free

Representative defect standards are essential for the validation and calibration of new and existing inspection techniques. However, commonly used methods of simulating delaminations in carbon-fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites do not accurately represent the behavior of the real-world defects for several widely-used NDE techniques. For instance, it is common practice to create a delamination standard by inserting Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) in between ply layers. However, PTFE can transmit more ultrasonic energy than actual delaminations, leading to an unrealistic representation of the defect inspection. PTFE can also deform/wrinkle during the curing process and has a thermal effusivity two orders of magnitude higher than air (almost equal to that of a CFRP). It is therefore not effective in simulating a delamination for thermography. Currently there is also no standard practice for producing or representing a known porosity in composites. This paper presents a novel method of creating delamination and porosity standards using aerogel. Insertion of thin sheets of solid aerogel between ply layers during layup is shown to produce air-gap-like delaminations creating realistic ultrasonic and thermographic inspection responses. Furthermore, it is shown that depositing controlled amounts of aerogel powder can represent porosity. Micrograph data verifies the structural integrity of the aerogel through the composite curing process. This paper presents data from multiple NDE methods, including X-ray computed tomography, immersion ultrasound, and flash thermography to the effectiveness of aerogel as a delamination and porosity simulant.