ABSTRACT
Application of polymer composites is increasing in every sector such as in engineering (automobile, aircraft, shipping etc.), civil (building construction, bridges) and medical (artificial bone structure, surgical equipment etc.). These composites have impressive mechanical properties, thermal properties, light in weight, good wear and frictional performance. The remarkable properties have permitted the uses of polymer composites in every sector where the ceramic matrix as well as metal-matrix composites is used.
There are various manufacturing techniques through which polymer composites can be processed such as hand lay-up, bag moulding, pultrusion, filament winding, resin transfer moulding, spray lay-up, compression moulding, injection moulding and so on. Various defects and flaws in the form of air or gas entrapment, blowholes, porosity and cracks are developed in the polymer composite during processing of polymer composites. These defects can be detected by various non-destructive testing, for example, variation-damping method, acoustic emission, ultrasonic testing, thermography testing and so on.
This chapter covers a detailed discussion on working methodologies of various inspection techniques. This chapter also reviews the work done by various researchers towards the inspection of defect and flaws within the polymer composite structure by various non-destructive techniques.
