Advanced, couplant free non-destructive testing system for next generation composite parts - CFLUX

复合材料在航空航天制造中的应用正在迅速加速，目前世界上最现代化的飞机中有50%以上是复合材料。这些新一代飞机更轻，更省油，因此更有利可图，与传统的铝制飞机相比，还显著减少了二氧化碳的排放。然而，复合材料的生产成本要高得多，部分原因是它们还不像金属那样为人所熟知，因此该行业每年要花费数百万美元，慢慢检查每个部件的缺陷，然后才能被认为足够安全，可以在飞机上使用，而检查复合材料部件并不容易。碳纤维复合材料在许多方面都是航空航天结构的理想材料，它比铝密度小，具有更高的刚度-重量比。它不腐蚀，也不容易疲劳。碳纤维部件可以直接成型成所需的几何形状，减少了对脆弱粘合区域的需求。但也有可能在制造材料本身时引入薄弱区域——纤维可能断裂或偏离直线，层可能分离，缝隙可能打开，这些都可能在材料内部结构深处无形地发生，使其变弱并导致意想不到的故障。制造商需要技术来检查其碳纤维部件的内部结构，而CFLUX的设计正是为了做到这一点。灵感来自传统的涡流无损检测技术，该技术已用于铝制飞机。这些方法可以快速有效地发现隐藏的缺陷，但依赖于金属的良好导电性。碳纤维的导电性比铝低1000倍，这使得涡流测试成为不可能，直到现在。CFLUX联盟开发了创新的传感器技术，可以提供比以前高1000倍的灵敏度，检索以前无法实现的高质量、高分辨率信号。不仅如此，这项技术很小，很容易发展成多传感器阵列，具有弹性，灵活性，非常适合用于生产线机器人，以真正加快和降低检查过程的成本。使用CFLUX的机器人检测预计比目前的流程快30倍以上，将单个34平方米复合组件的检测成本从1292英镑降低到72英镑。这支持了航空航天业对更轻、更经济、更环保的安全飞机的追求。

The use of composite materials in aerospace manufacture is accelerating fast, with the most modern aircraft in the world's fleet now more than 50% composite materials. These new-generation aeroplanes are lighter, more fuel-efficient, and so more profitable, as well as significantly reducing CO2 emissions compared to traditional aluminium planes. However, composite materials are much more expensive to produce, partly because they are not yet as well-understood as metals, so the industry spends millions every year slowly inspecting each part for flaws before it is deemed safe enough to take its place in an aircraft, and inspecting composite components is not easy.Carbon fibre composite is in many ways an ideal material for aerospace construction, being less dense than aluminium, with a greater stiffness-to-weight ratio. It does not corrode and it is less susceptible to fatigue. Carbon fibre components can be moulded directly into their required geometry, reducing the need for vulnerable bonded areas. But there is also the possibility of introducing weakened areas when constructing the material itself - fibres can break or move out of alignment, layers can separate, gaps can open up, and this can all happen invisibly, deep within the internal structure of the material, weakening it and leading to unexpected failure.Manufacturers need techniques to inspect the internal structure of their carbon fibre components and CFLUX is designed to do just that. The inspiration comes from traditional eddy current non-destructive testing techniques that have been used for aluminium aircraft. These are fast and effective for finding hidden flaws but rely on the good conductivity of metals. Carbon fibre is 1000 times less conductive than aluminium, making eddy current testing impossible, until now.The CFLUX consortium have developed innovative sensor technology that can give sensitivities 1000 times greater than before, retrieving high-quality, high-resolution signals that were previously unachievable. Not only that, but this technology is tiny, making it easy to develop into multi-sensor arrays that are resilient, flexible and ideal for use in the production-line robotics necessary to really speed up and reduce the cost of the inspection process.Robotic inspections using CFLUX are expected to be more than 30 times faster than current processes, reducing inspection costs from £1,292 to just £72 for a single 34m2 composite component. This supports the aerospace industry in its drive for safe aircraft that are lighter, more cost-efficient, and have a reduced impact on our environment.