Evaluation of Bonding Quality in the Carbon Fiber--Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) Composite Laminates by Measurements of Local Vibration Nonlinearity

A new approach to monitoring the quality of adhesive bonding in the carbon fiber--reinforced polymer (CFRP) is developed by using a local nonlinear response of the laminate. It is shown that a degraded (contaminated) boundary layer of the adhesive contributes to an overall nonlinear response of the laminate that enables to evaluate and quantify bonding quality caused by various types and levels of single contaminations. In the context of aviation applications, two typical stages during the life of a structural part for which the adhesive properties of a bonding joint could be degraded were considered: the production process and the maintenance/repair scenario. All kinds of single contaminations studied result in enhancement of the nonlinear response of the CFRP laminate, which is an indication of deterioration of the bonding quality. The effect of multiple contaminations confirms a cumulative decline of adhesion caused by increase of the contents of single contamination components.