Role of NDI in ABDR Assessment , Equipment & Logistics

Use of Non Destructive Testing (NDT) technique during aircraft maintenance operations is increasing in the last years as well as the tools to perform these inspections are widening their field of application. Damage tolerance design approach has been selected by aeronautic industry for the last years also thanking to the most modern NDT capabilities, like ultrasound and thermography, which have been showing more and more reliable results. Whenever a safe life criterion has been applied, NDT are currently used to verify structural integrity of components in case of special events (heavy landing, bird strike, hail, tools drop, etc.) and to assess and monitorize quality and effectiveness of repairs and for rework. This kind of approach can be very helpful especially in the case of composite materials damage assessment and also in the first line of Defense when a damage tolerance approach needs to be used in order to face spares unavailability or operational readiness and when a rapid and full understanding of damage extension and repairable area is highly required. This paper deals with NDT techniques applicable for battle damage assessment, particularly focusing on composite airframe inspections, showing advantages/disadvantages of each method in ABDR context. Case studies carrying out during research activities will be illustrated, showing results of NDT techniques applied on composite material structures.