Millimeter wave holographical inspection of honeycomb composites

J. T. Case, S. Kharkovsky, R. Zoughi, G. Steffes, F. L. Hepburn

    Research output: Chapter in Book / Conference PaperConference Paperpeer-review

    32 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    ![CDATA[Multi-layered composite structures manufactured with honeycomb, foam, or balsa wood cores are finding increasing utility in a variety of aerospace, transportation, and infrastructure applications. Due to the low conductivity and inhomogeneity associated with these composites, standard nondestructive testing (NDT) methods are not always capable of inspecting their interior for various defects caused during the manufacturing process or as a result of in-service loading. On the contrary, microwave and millimeter wave NDT methods are well-suited for inspecting these structures since signals at these frequencies readily penetrate through these structures and reflect from different interior boundaries revealing the presence of a wide range of defects such as isband, delamination, moisture and oil intrusion, impact damage, etc. Millimeter wave frequency spectrum spans 30 GHz-300 GHz with corresponding wavelengths of 10-1mm. Due to the inherent short wavelengths at these frequencies, one can produce high spatial resolution images of these composites either using real-antenna focused or synthetic-aperture focused methods. In addition, incorporation of swept-frequency in the latter method (i.e., holography) results in high-resolution three-dimensional images. This paper presents the basic steps behind producing such images at millimeter wave frequencies and the results of two honeycomb composite panels are demonstrated at Q-band (33-50 GHz). In addition, these results are compared to previous results using X-ray computed tomography.]]
    Original languageEnglish
    Title of host publicationAIP Conference Proceedings. Vol. 975: Review of Progress in Quantitative Nondestructive Evaluation: Colorado, U.S., 22-27 July 2007
    PublisherAmerican Institute of Physics
    Pages970-975
    Number of pages6
    ISBN (Print)9780735404946
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2008
    EventReview of Progress in Quantitative Nondestructive Evaluation -
    Duration: 17 Jul 2012 → …

    Publication series

    Name
    ISSN (Print)0094-243X

    Conference

    ConferenceReview of Progress in Quantitative Nondestructive Evaluation
    Period17/07/12 → …

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