3D Inspection of Fiber-Reinforced Thermoplastics at THz frequencies

Utilizing composite materials instead of metals allows to reduce weight while maintaining mechanical strength. Fiber-Reinforced Thermoplastics (FRT) have very competitive mechanical properties and additionally offer the capability for mass production, which makes the material particularly attractive in the automotive and aircraft sectors. Typical defects in FRT are dominated by fiber shifts and cracks. We show that 3D THz imaging using a FMCW approach can resolve such defects and is therefore a suitable tool for nondestructive testing applications, specifically for the quality control in FRT mass production.