Preliminary communication
https://doi.org/10.18048/2022.04.13
Carbon Mast Structural Damage Detection Using Ultrasonic NDT Method
Patrik Kubaska
Tin Matulja
orcid.org/0000-0002-1023-8085
; Faculty of Engineering University of Rijeka, Vukovarska 58, Rijeka, Croatia
Marko Hadjina
orcid.org/0000-0001-7131-4750
; Faculty of Engineering University of Rijeka, Vukovarska 58, Rijeka, Croatia
Abstract
Glass and carbon fibers as materials have become the primary choice in the construction of smaller
vessels. The advantages of these materials are good mechanical properties, they are relatively light
materials that today anyone with a little knowledge can handle and also, financially speaking, they are
materials that are affordable to almost everyone. One of the disadvantages is that composite materials
are not homogeneous. This would mean that irregularities can be observed in the cross section of the
laminate of such composite vessel or equipment. These irregularities are usually negligible because
they simply belong to the property of composite materials. The problem arises when imperfections are
caused by human factors or the action of some external force such as residual air in the laminate or
delamination. Such imperfections during navigation can cause catastrophic damage. Although visible
damage may seem small, it is very likely that there is much greater damage to the laminate that is not
visible because it is located somewhere between the layers of fibers. Various methods exist for detecting
such damage and imperfections, which can be invasive or non-invasive. The focus of this paper is
on detecting the magnitude of damage in the laminate of the carbon mast of a racing sailboat Melges
32 using a non-invasive ultrasonic testing method. The Avenger EZ device was used for testing only.
Keywords
Carbon mast; Laminate; Damage detection; NDT method; Ultrasonic testing
Hrčak ID:
278708
URI
Publication date:
24.4.2022.
Visits: 831 *