Dantec Dynamics Ltd

Dantec Dynamics is a leading provider of laser shearography systems and services. Laser shearography is an optical non-destructive testing (NDT) technique used to reveal sub-surface defects in structures. Through the application of a load using either thermal, vacuum-partial, vacuum-ambient or vibration-mechanical excitation to a structure, a laser shearography sensor (such as the FlawExplorer or FlawScout) can observe (minimal) surface bending in the form of an out-of-plane strain field and image the measurement as a phase map. Since the sensor is sensitive to changes in the interference in laser light, the capability of the sensor to detect bending is within the sub-micrometre range.

Laser shearography is a versatile solution and can be used as a manual, semi- or fully-automated system for NDT applications within production quality control or in-service inspection. Currently, the technique is used for a large array of testing applications in various industries, including aeropace, aviation and MRO, automotive, wind power and marine.

Depending on the surface material strength, the technique can detect most discontinuities that occur within 30 mm (and in some cases up to 40 mm) below the surface. Examples of applications include, but are not limited to:

• Honeycombs and sandwiches for disbonds, cracked cores, crushed cores, node bond spits and (aluminium) corrosion
• Laminates and overwraps for delaminations, fluid ingresses, dry spots and ply wrinkling
• Bondings and coatings for disbonds, dry spots and kissing bonds
• Compounds and ceramics for voids, cracking and abrasions
• Spray foams and sealants for porosity and voids.

Additional structural information can also be detected using shearography, including ply drops, bulkheads, overlaps, splices, stringers and ribs.

Dantec Dynamics provides three laser shearography meaurement solutions:

• The FlawExplorer is a laser shearography NDT sensor designed to be used for post-production quality control applications or in-field component inspections. A FlawExplorer uses eight laser diodes to generate a large illumination area and field of view of up to 3.4 m x 2.8 m in one shot. A FlawExplorer system can be completely automated, including camera and heat triggering, display settings, filters and control parameters.
• The FlawScout is a laser shearography NDT sensor designed to be used for (post-production) quality control, academic research or NDT training.
• The Q-810 is a rugged in-field solution based on a vacuum hood design that allows testing under vacuum or heat-loading conditions to be carried out. Developed for in-field use, it covers large areas quickly with a simple two-button control and touch-screen feedback.