Advances in nondestructive evaluation technology

Research at NASA Langley's Materials Characterization Instrumentation Section has followed the philosophy of improving the science base of nondestructive evaluation and advancing the state of the art of quantitative interpretability of physical measurements of materials. Details of several R&D programs choosen to highlight the last several years are given. Applications of these technologies are presented in the area of stress measurement, characterization of metal heat treatment, and evaluation of material internal structure. A second focus of the program is on quantitative transducers/measurements that have resulted in better data in irregular inhomogeneous materials such as composites. Examples are presented of new capabilities resulting from these advances that include fatigue and impact damage evaluation.