Flying laser spot thermography for the inspection of aerospace grade Fibre Metal Laminates

This work analyses a Non Destructive Testing approach for the detection of interlayer disbonds in aerospace grade Fibre Metal Laminates (FMLs). The NDT setup consists of a continuous laser, focused and moved over the material surface, while an IR thermal camera acquires its thermal footprint. A numerical model of the NDT setup is presented, where the material thermal response is analysed to evaluate the features of the defects signatures. In particular, the response from various types of FMLs is evaluated.