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Theoretical And Experimental Study Of Generation Mechanisms For Laser Ultrasound In Woven Graphite /Epoxy Composites With Translaminar Stitching, Adam D. Friedman

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

The aerospace industry is beginning to use advanced composite materials for primary load bearing structures and their failure mechanisms must be better understood to predict their behavior in service. The Combined Loads Tests (COLTS) facility is being constructed at the NASA Langley Research Center to characterize these failure mechanisms. Laser based ultrasonic NDE can monitor the samples during dynamic loading without interfering with the structural tests. However, the constraints of implementing laser ultrasound in a structures laboratory reduces the efficiency of the technique. The system has to be "eye-safe" because many people will be present during the structural tests. Consequently, …