Composite bond inspection

After 50+ years of research to discover a way of determining the in situ strength of an adhesive bond, a method has been found to probe this key parameter. The initial testing on composite joints has shown it to be accurate and reliable. While effective, it is expensive to implement in a production environment and then during the final stages of assembly. A second method of probing the adherent surface prior to bonding is presented that offers the promise of determining adhesion potential before final bond consolidation. These new inspection methods should enable significant increases in structural performance for structures that utilize composite materials. Before examining these two new methods a brief review of past work on adhesive bond strength determination is presented.