In the proposed project the applicant will explore the applications of existing methods and expertise in materials imaging to samples which are of specific interest to DoD. We will determine the optimal conditions for recording high resolution, high sensitivity, and high contrast images for the study of aging of polymeric and composite materials. Experimental criteria will be established for studies of aging, heat damage, stress, the degree of cure, polymer welds, fractures and solvent ingress. Methods will be considered for both laboratory scale predictive methods on small samples and in field, non-destructive testing methods of in-place large objects such as aircraft components and liners of rocket motor casings. The latter will employ switched field polarization methods to avoid the attenuation losses normally associated with lossy or conductive samples. In the phase II portion of this project, the information obtained during phase I will be employed to develop commercially viable instruments to specific- ally test for materials aging.
