Hand-held Nonlinear Guided Wave Imaging (NGWI) System for Composite Missile Structure Inspection Navy SBIR FY2010.1 Sol No.: Navy SBIR FY2010.1 Topic No.: N101-011 Topic Title: Hand-held Nonlinear Guided Wave Imaging (NGWI) System for Composite Missile Structure Inspection Proposal No.: N101-011-1654 Firm: Intelligent Automation, Inc. 15400 Calhoun Drive Suite 400 Rockville, Maryland 20855 Contact: George Zhao Phone: (301) 294-5232 Web Site: www.i-a-i.com Abstract: Fiber reinforced polymer composites are increasingly used in aerospace and missile defense industries. However, composite materials are subject to damage during fatigue, mechanical impact, and aging in a service environment. A portable and reliable NDE system is desired that can be carried to field for quick and accurate inspection of composite by a person that does not have much training. We propose to develop a nonlinear guided wave imaging system that can detect small incipient damage in complex composite structures. This novel approach is able to monitor large scale structures with complex geometries and is very sensitive to detect material micro-damage and in inaccessible areas. A physics base damage mapping algorithm will be developed and show intuitively the defect severity and location. The final prototype sensor hardware/software will be effective and low cost. Benefits: Early detection of material degradation and damages in composite structures is important for structural safety. Our proposed nonlinear vibro - guided wave technology achieves the purpose of in-field detection composite damages and hence improves safety and saves costs in maintenance. The proposed handheld nondestructive inspection (NDI) system also has many applications in rotorcraft, jet and engine diagnostics. The proposed system can also be easily adapted for other military or civilian structure inspection, such as automotives, aerospace structures, ship/vessels, bridges, pipelines, power plants etc. The commercial market for such a system is very huge. Return