Health Management of High Temperature Polymer Composites

We propose to investigate the feasibility of using time domain terahertz (THz or T-Ray) imaging to detect and map aging of high temperature polymer matrix composites (HTPMCs) used in advanced aerospace structural systems. We will experimentally demonstrate the ability of T-Ray measurement and imaging to provide rapid, quantitative, non-contact measurements of aging behavior in neat resin specimens. This recognition ability will be further detailed into the separate measurements possible with a single T-Ray image: porosity, cracking, densification, spectroscopy, and layer determination. We will describe the accuracy of each of these measurements, and specify the critical design parameters for a lightweight, field usable instrument for composite aging characterization, based on Picometrix’ commercialized fiber optic driven T-Ray non-destructive evaluation systems and components.