The nondestructivecharacterization of advanced composites, such ascarbon-fiber reinforced polymers (cfrp), by electromagnetic means iswell established [6]-[24]. What isneeded to advance the state of the art are sophisticated inversionalgorithms that allow layup and impact damage to be determined inlocalized regions, which means that the more traditional methods ofmodel-based inverse methods must be replaced by voxel-based methods.Thus, one will be able to better distinguish such things asdelaminations from fiber-breakage due to impact damage, or otherparameters thatcharacterize the mechanical state of the cfrp structure, such aselastic modulus and Poisson's ratio on avoxel-by-voxel basis. This information can then be input to damageevolution models. We describetwo such methods, bilinear conjugate-gradients and set-theoreticestimation. The challenge is to extend these methods to anisotropicmaterials. We do that in this project, and will develop thealgorithms for inclusionin our proprietary eddy-current code, \vic, during Phase II.In addition, we continue our program of discovering and exploitingparallelism in VIC-3D(R) to speed up the modeling and processing ofproblems that involve massive data generation.
Potential NASA Commercial Applications: (Limit 1500 characters, approximately 150 words) NASA LaRC already ownsa copy of VIC-3D(R) which it uses for modeling forward and inverseproblems in eddy-current NDE. With the enhancements proposed in thisproject, NASA LaRC will be able to extend its modeling capability tomore accurately characterize damage conditions in cfrps, as well asrun large problems much more efficiently.
Potential NON-NASA Commercial Applications:
: (Limit 1500 characters, approximately 150 words) There are35 commercial and university research institutions around theworld that own copies of VIC-3D(R) which they use for the same purposes asNASA LaRC. They will have the same advantages with the enhancedversion of VIC-3D(R). Furthermore, aerospace companies, such as Boeing,and SpaceX (Elon Musk),that are developing vehicles that use advanced composites, such ascarbon-fiber reinforced polymers (cfrp) will beable to use the enhanced version of VIC-3D(R). A more prosaic industrythat is using cfrp advanced composites in their vehicles is autoracing, especially IndyCar. With a successful Phase II, we will be ina better position to approach them and offer our services through VIC-3D(R) forinspecting their cars. Composites are also being used in theburgeoning wind-turbine industry, and, of course, in sportingequipment, such as golf clubs and tennis rackets.
Technology Taxonomy Mapping: (NASA's technology taxonomy has been developed by the SBIR-STTR program to disseminate awareness of proposed and awarded R/R&D in the agency. It is a listing of over 100 technologies, sorted into broad categories, of interest to NASA.) Characterization Composites Data Modeling (see also Testing & Evaluation) Models & Simulations (see also Testing & Evaluation) Nanomaterials Nondestructive Evaluation (NDE; NDT) Simulation & Modeling Software Tools (Analysis, Design)
