Polymer Matrix Composites (PMCs) are widely used in weight sensitive sectors (such as aircraft and wind turbine blades) where sudden failure of the structures can have a significant impact on the economy and more importantly, can cause life threatening situations. PMCs fail due to various defects, which can arise during the manufacturing stage and can continue growing during the component’s service life until its often unexpected failure.
Delaminations are the most common defects in fibre-composites and several Non-destructive testing (NDT) techniques are available for their detection, however they generally require having access to all parts of the components to guarantee defect detection. The Guided Wave Testing (GWT) method can be used to inspect the component without requiring access to all that component however, it still needs further development before it can be accepted as a standard inspection and health monitoring technique for PMCs.
The main goal of this thesis is to assess the defect detection capability of GWT for delamination and especially during three-point loading by validating experimental protocols designed for a specific GFRP sample. One of these protocols will also help to identify the potential precursors or warning signs of an imminent failure in composites
