Modern Methods of NDT for Inspection of Aerospace Structures

Abstract

Abstract. Aerospace structures need to be light and safe, an aspect which makes new materials attractive. Therefore maintenance inspection of these light-weight structures is a new and difficult task for non-destructive testing (NDT) which needs methods that are applicable to such high-specific-strength materials. The methods must be robust to be used in an industrial environment and sensitive enough to respond to boundaries and to provide reliable results in a short time. The new methods which fulfil such requirements are based on diverse physical phenomena e.g., heat transport, thermal expansion, air-coupled elastic waves, or non-linear vibrometry responding selectively to defects. The paper presents both the principles of such new NDT methods and their applications to typical aerospace structures. 1.