Shearography non-destructive testing of thick GFRP laminates: Numerical and experimental study on defect detection with thermal loading

Thick composite materials are commonly used as load-bearing structures in marine applications. Developing a suitable and sophisticated non-destructive testing (NDT) method for thick composites is an urgent challenge to improve the safety, reliability and maintenance of these structures. Digital shearography has become an important NDT...

A hybrid approach to implement the Digital Twin concept into a damage evolution prediction for composite structures

Improvement in the SHM of composite materials requires an enhanced understanding of the damage accumulation processes and helps in the way towards lighter, more optimized, and more sustainable aerospace structures. The Digital Twin concept has the potential to address this problem and may revolutionize the designing, certifying, maintaining, and...

In situ strain investigation during laser welding using digital image correlation and finite-element-based numerical simulation

In situ strain evolution during laser welding has been measured by means of digital image correlation to assess the susceptibility of an advanced high strength automotive steel to solidification cracking. A novel method realised using auxiliary illumination and optical narrow bandpass filter allowed strain measurements as close as 1.5 mm from...

The influence of the Transition Zone on the structural behavior of pin connected areas in local metal reinforced composites

Fibre Metal Laminates (FML) are hybrid composites, with the attempt to combine the advantages of metals and fibre reinforced plastics. Their promising properties are used locally in joining areas to reduce the structural weight. As the metal foils density, in this case a steel alloy, is much higher than the density of carbon plies, its amount...

Strain Rate Dependen 3-Point Bending Test and Simulation of a Unidirectional Carbon/Epoxy Composite

In order to use composite materials in automotive production while ensuring that passengers safety it is crucial to fully understand the strain rate effect on their mechanical properties.This study implements a strain rate dependent 3-point bending test setup for a high rate servo-hydraulic testing machine. A finite element model to simulate...

Effect of plastic deformation on residual strength of ship structures after grounding

Ship grounding decreases the strength of ship hull structures once plastic deformation occurs during the event. In practice of ship societies, current method of determining residual strength of ship hull structures after grounding is to totally remove the plastically damaged parts. As plastically deformed part of ship hull structures might still...