FANTOM · Full-field Advanced Non Destructive Technique for On-line Thermo-Mechanical Measurements on Aeronautical Structures

The increasing use of composites, sandwich and lightweight structures and parts in new airplanes leads to a need of adapted Non Destructive Testing techniques for such new materials. Various NDT techniques are currently used for flaw detection or mechanical characterization during the development of aerostructures. There is a constant need for improved inspection methods; with increased reliability, rapidity of inspection time and of setting up, and userfriendliness. FANTOM proposes the development of an advanced NDT technique which combines thermography and shearography which are non-contact full-field optical techniques well accepted in the aeronautical sector for composite structures inspection. The combination is envisaged on the basis of a unique measurement technique using a single sensor instead of a classical approach combining separate sensors. The innovative idea is to develop a holography/shearography sensor in the spectral range of thermographic camera, say at long wave infrared light wavelengths. The state-of-art of components (laser, optics, camera) working in that thermal range is such that one can now envisage such developments with high confidence. Therefore, FANTOM is highly relevant to the objective AAT.2007.4.1.1 of decreasing aircraft development costs through advanced testing tools and methods to improve cost-efficiency and reduce testing time in laboratory and on-ground tests. The successive phases of FANTOM are the definition of specifications, the conceptual design, the development of the critical segments (optical hardware, new high resolution infrared camera and a specific data processing which allows decoupling of thermal and strain informations), the building of a laboratory prototype and its validation on certified samples, and finally the industrial validation in structural test facilities of Airbus and service partner.