Directional eddy current probe configuration for in-line detection of out-of-plane wrinkles

Meirbek Mussatayev*, Qiuji Yi, Mark Fitzgerald, Vincent K. Maes, Paul Wilcox, Robert Hughes

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

3 Citations (Scopus)
53 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Real-time monitoring of carbon fibre composites during Automated Fibre Placement (AFP) manufacturing remains a challenge for non-destructive evaluation (NDE) techniques. A directional eddy-current (EC) probe with asymmetric transmit and differential receive (Tx-dRx) coils is designed, constructed and characterized to evaluate the detectability of out-of-plane wrinkles. Initial studies were conducted to determine suitable excitation frequencies and to analyse the impact of relative orientations of driver and pickup coils on wrinkle detectability. The probe configurations are evaluated experimentally and employ a new finite element modelling approach to better understand the relationship between eddy-current density and defect detection. The findings indicate that a probe configuration with an asymmetric driver coil normal to the material surface and aligned with the fibre directions, and with differential pickup coils 90° to the scanning direction, shows the best capability for out-of-plane wrinkle detection, with SNR >20 for wrinkles over 1.3 mm in amplitude.

Original languageEnglish
Article number111048
JournalComposites Part B: Engineering
Volume268
Early online date1 Nov 2023
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 2024

Keywords

  • Automated fibre placement
  • Eddy-current testing
  • Non-destructive evaluation
  • Real-time monitoring

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