Tracking Accelerated Aging of Composites with Ultrasonic Attenuation Measurements

Composite materials are steadily replacing traditional materials in many industries. For many carbon composite materials, particularly in aerospace applications, durability is a critical design parameter which must be accurately characterized. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and Boeing Commercial Airplane Group have established a cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA) to assist in the high speed research program at Boeing. LLNL’s expertise in fiber composites, computer modeling, mechanical testing, chemical analysis and nondestructive evaluation (NDE) will contribute to the study of advanced composite materials in commercial aerospace applications. Through thermo-mechanical experiments with periodic chemical analysis and nondestructive evaluation, the aging mechanisms in several continuous fiber polymer composites will be studied