Model Assisted Probability of Detection of Phased Array Ultrasonic on an Aircraft Metallic Part

View planning for 3D reconstruction of unknown objects with Leading Edge Scanner (LES)

Automation has come knocking at the door of the world of aircraft maintenance. The general trend shows that the total aircraft fleet size of the world increases in contrast to the number of technicians, which decreases. Therefore, the Royal Netherlands Aerospace Center (NLR) launched a project and setup called Leading Edge Scanner (LES) to...

Automated Ultrasonic Inspection using Full Matrix Captureon Composite Materials

This master thesis focuses on developing an integrated system capable of performing ultrasonic phased array measurement on composite parts in an automated fashion. This could potentially be used in the manufacturing process of fiber laminate composite parts to obtain more accu- rate detection of manufacturing defects. Phased array ultrasonics...

Induction heating simulation of out of autoclave production techniques: Design of method to simulate an induction heating system of out of autoclave mould to scale to full scale production

This master thesis is part of research at Fokker Aerostructures to an out of autoclave production method for thermoplastic composites. The objective of the thesis is to simulate the induction heating process of this production method to make it possible to simulate the production method before the mould is produced. The final product is a...

Application of Digital Image Correlation on the micro-scale of composites

Digital Image Correlation is a powerful tool with which full-field strains can be extracted from a series of digital images. If applied on the micro-scale of composites, the fiber-matrix interaction can be studied. To do so, different challenges have to be overcome. First, composite specimens have to be prepared for microscopy. Then, a speckle...

Monitoring strain in rolling element bearings using fiber Bragg grating sensors

Using Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) sensors in rolling element bearings is a novel way of monitoring bearings. During prototype testing, differences between sensor readouts were observed, leading to the research question: “What causes the observed differences in the strain distribution from sensor to sensor in a rolling element bearing equipped with...

Predicting the Mechanical Properties of Animal Glue Thin Films

This report shows that animal glue from porcine skins can be used to make thin films with reproducible properties. It shows that the tensile strength of the film relates linearly to the bloom strength, while the stiffness remains constant for temperatures lower than the glass transition temperature. The report continues to show how Differential...

Characterising delamination growth in composites under dynamic loading using infrared thermography: An experimental approach to use an infrared camera to monitor delamination growth in composite test samples

With an ever increasing demand for energy, the renewable energy sector is gaining a lot of importance. Among the various renewable energy sources, wind energy is becoming more attractive compared to its counterparts (solar, biomass, etc.). Some of the main advantages of wind energy are faster payback time and that power generation is possible...

Acoustic emission monitoring of fatigue damage progression in composite ship structures: A constitutively-informed approach to acoustic emission source classification

AE-based structural integrity monitoring of composite structures potentially offers the means to gain knowledge on in-service damage accumulation, as well as mitigation of some of the risks associated with in-service damage. However, validation of any identified classes of AE events with regard to their underlying source mechanics is generally...

Development of permanent composite overwrap repairs for steel pipelines, incorporating Structural Health Monitoring

A good structural health monitoring system on a composite repair can improve the understanding of the life of such a repair. Currently, overwrap repairs are considered to be temporary in nature due to the unknown life expectancy. Using finite element modelling, a model was created of a pipe with a repaired defect and a composite overwrap. This...