Inspection of COPVs using 2D array ultrasonic NDT technique
22/01/2024
A new scientific paper published by Robert Gordon University, Scotland, investigates the performance of composite overwrapped pressure vessels (COPVs) after impact. COPVs are used across a wide range of industries, such as automotive, defence, aerospace and oil & gas.
The Dolphicam2, manufactured by Dolphitech, was chosen for the study due to its unrivalled ability to inspect multi-layer composites and dissimilar materials.
The Dolphicam2’s on-board analytical software provides easy-to-interpret statistical data for both live imaging and post-acquisition analysis. Not only is the Dolphicam2 easy to use but, due to the sophisticated visual imaging software, training on how to use the instrument is a simple task.
A composite pressure vessel is formed by either a metallic or thermoplastic liner being encased within a high-strength composite wrap. The resulting structure gives the pressure vessel incredible strength and durability and these vessels are lightweight and smaller compared to the equivalent purely metallic pressure vessels. The paper goes further to explain the testing conducted when a COPV was subjected to a series of tests to help understand its durability.
Non-destructive testing (NDT) has long been established as a thorough and reliable means of providing conclusive evidence on the internal structure of a component. Composite materials can often leave the true scale of impact damage hidden from view, referred to as barely visible impact damage (BVID). The damage to the surface does not necessarily represent the true scale of the damage inside.
Dolphitech is extremely pleased to have assisted in this and in similar projects with its customers. Dolphitech strives to create efficient, data-rich non-destructive testing equipment that allows its customers to get to the task in hand as quickly as
possible.
