The application of thermoelastic stress analysis to full-scale aerospace structures

Non-destructive evaluation (NDE) techniques that can be applied in-situ are particularly relevant to the testing of large scale structures that cannot easily be taken into a laboratory for inspection. The application of established laboratory based techniques to the inspection of such structures therefore brings with it a new set of challenges associated with the change in operating environment between the laboratory and 'the field'. The current work investigates the use of thermoelastic stress analysis (TSA) to inspect carbon fibre composite aerospace components for manufacturing defects and in-service damage. An initial study using single transient loads to obtain a measureable change in temperature that can be related to the change in the sum of the principal stresses showed a good agreement with the traditional methodology. However, for large structures, the energy required to obtain a sufficiently large stress change to obtain a resolvable measurement may require an actuator that is not easily portable. Hence a number of ideas have been proposed to reduce the power requirement and deal with small signal to noise ratios. This paper describes the use of natural frequency vibration modes to enable large stress changes to be generated with minimal power input. Established signal processing in the form of a lock-in amplifier and Fourier signal analysis is applied. Tests on a laboratory scale flat plate and full-scale representative wing skin and stringer specimen are presented.