DETECTING INCLUSIONS AND DISBONDS IN GREEN MATERIAL REPAIRS WITH THERMOGRAPHY

摘要

Method and apparatus for detecting defects in a laminate of uncured, compacted composite sheets. After a number of plies of composite sheets are arranged and compacted, a burst of heat energy is applied to a top surface of the laminate and a digital thermographic camera captures images of the top surface. A computer processor measures heat characteristics of the top surface to identify regions of the top surface with different heat characteristics. Such different areas are identified as regions that include a defect. The defect regions can be repaired by applying additional compaction and/or by removing at least a portion of some layers, removing any foreign object debris, replacing the layers, and compacting the replaced layers. After any defects are addressed, the laminate is cured.