Automated Damage Assessment System for Ballistic Protective Inserts Using Low Frequency Ultrasonics; Conference paper

摘要

Ballistic Protective Inserts (BPI) provide personal ballistic protection through several layers of materials such as ceramic plates and composite fibers. The complex BPI structure makes inspection with conventional nondestructive testing methods difficult. Radiography and low frequency ultrasonics are two methods that can provide information about the condition of a BPI, with respect to cracking and porosity in the ceramic plate and debonding between layers. Although both ultrasonics and radiography are sensitive to the presence of cracking and porosity, ultrasonics may be more sensitive to the presence of debonds, which makes it a powerful tool for BPI evaluation. In this paper, we discuss the development and application of an automated inspection system, which uses low frequency ultrasonics and a newly developed mathematical algorithm to assess the condition of BPI.