Real-Time Inspection of Complex Composite Structures with a Self-Adaptive Ultrasonic Technique

In aircraft industry, composite structures under testing have complex and variable geometries. In these cases, an optimal use of ultrasonic phased-array requires specific algorithms in electronic systems in order to achieve rapid and reliable inspections. To fulfil such requirements, a new real-time adaptive inspection method is presented. This technique enables the transmission of an incident wave-front parallel to any complex surface. It allows to inspect one given component presenting variable geometries in its totality using a same transducer array. This is achieved by means of an iterative algorithm that does not require the knowledge of the geometrical and acoustical properties of the component undergoing inspection. In this paper, the real-time adaptive process is illustrated through measurements obtained with different typical aircraft composite structures.