Nondestructive evaluation of composite bonds, especially thermoplastic induction welds
US5902935A · kind A · utility
51Cited by
78References
10Claims
0Family size
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Aug 8, 1997 |
| Grant date | May 11, 1999 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Aug 8, 2017 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01N2291/0251
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
Thermoplastic welding is an emerging technology targeted at significantly reducing the manufacturing cost of aerospace structure by eliminating fasteners and the touch labor associated with fasteners to prepare, install, and inspect the assemblies. Quality welds are highly dependent upon achieving appropriate temperatures everywhere along the bond line. The present invention is a system that evaluates the quality of the welds involving inputting an EM pulse to the embedded susceptor and listening to the acoustic response that the pulse generates to determine weld quality from the sound.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.