Infrared thermography

Inspection methods that assess the condition or internal quality of a material or component without damaging it, including ultrasonic, radiographic, thermographic, dye penetrant and acoustic emission techniques. It is essential for finding hidden defects such as delaminations, voids and disbonds in safety-critical structures.

A non-destructive method that sends high-frequency sound pulses into a material and analyses the reflected or transmitted signals to detect internal flaws and measure thickness. In composites it is the principal technique for finding delaminations, voids and disbonds, applied by pulse-echo or through-transmission scanning.

A non-destructive survey method that finds breaches in roofing and waterproofing membranes by applying a voltage across the membrane and locating points where current passes through to a conductive substrate or wet deck. Low-voltage and high-voltage variants exist, and both pinpoint defects far more precisely than flood testing.

A separation at a bonded interface, such as within an adhesive joint or between the skin and core of a sandwich panel. Disbonds may originate in manufacture or grow in service, and are detected by tap testing or ultrasonic inspection.