British Institute of Non-destructive Testing, Insight - Non-Destructive Testing & Condition Monitoring, 5(52), p. 252-254, 2010
DOI: 10.1784/insi.2010.52.5.252
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Shearography has been validated as fast and reliable inspection technique for aerospace components. Following several years phase of evaluation of the technique, meanwhile, shearography has entered the industrial production inspection. Modern hi-tech products today widely are made of composite materials, which are specifically designed for the purpose of their application. Other than a precise knowledge of the characteristics of these materials, which often are anisotropic, quality control is of the essence. As said components, e.g. in aerospace, aircraft, or also boat industry are safety relevant, and also of great economic value, rapid defect recognition has to be carried out in production as well as in maintenance. Shearography is a full field inspection technique, which is specifically suited to do fast defect detection. It is widely accepted as a reliable and fast inspection method especially designed for modern composite material. Latest generation of Shearography technique and software are presented and the potential is outlined. Different challenges are presented in production control and in maintenance. In case of complex components, robotic manipulation of the shearography camera has proven to be the optimal solution. An industry 6-axis robot gives utmost flexibility to position the camera in any angle and distance. Automatic defect marking systems have also been introduced to indicate the exact position of the defect directly on the inspected component. In this presentation emphasis is put on its potential and position in aircraft and boat industry.