Innovation for ultrasonic non-destructive testing

The Proel Tecnologie Division of the Italian company Laben is working with the Ultrasonic and Non Destructive Testing Laboratory of the University of Florence to develop new piezopolymer transducers suitable for real time health monitoring of composite materials. These devices transmit and receive ultrasonic guided waves traveling inside the material and are able to detect any accidental defect or damage occurred to the material itself. The objective is to use these sensors in ultrasonic non-destructive testing of critical, stressed composite spacecraft parts. One of the key advantages of this technology with respect to a traditional piezoceramic sensor is the conformability of such a sensors - based on the soft piezoelectric polymer material which can be used on non-planar surfaces, and therefore supports also complex shaped products. The picture shows one of the sensors developed in the pilot phase of ESA's Innovation Triangle Initiative.