Aerospatiale Matra and Dassault Aviation have been using laser ultrasonictechnology since 1994. The system used in a laboratory environment has proven tobe highly efficient for inspection of complex geometry composite parts,monolithic as well as sandwich ones. The LUIS system was integrated in a shelterin 1997 to enable an easy transfer and extensive testing in various plant sites.It has then confirmed its good performances. The system was upgraded in 1998 toimprove its capabilities with a high level of reliability.Extensive tests have been conducted in production environment at DassaultAviation plant of Biarritz, and at Aerospatiale Matra plants of Nantes andBordeaux. It has been possible to validate the use of the LUIS for testing alarge range of parts, with a simple and easy set-up.Lately, the system was set up for a week in a maintenance environment at M閞ignac, a Dassault Aviation plant close to Bordeaux. A Mirage 2000 was inspected,without any surface preparation. Several composite parts of the aircraft wereinspected such as the elevon, the rudder and the vertical fin. Other tests onmetallic parts such as a wing access door were performed. The LUIS has also showna wide potential for corrosion detection as it was proven on a Transall corrodedpanel.The LUIS is now installed in a composite manufacturing plant in Biarritz, whereit is used for production inspection. The advances of optical science should helpto bring this amazing technology closer to industry use in the next future.
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