LSP Technologies offers affordable laser peening services to improve the fatigue properties of our customer’s military, aerospace, power generation, tube forming, or other types of parts.  We collaborate with our customers to enhance their products with this innovative laser technology by increasing reliability, improving safety, and adding value.  We also provide an innovative non-destructive method of inspecting glue bonds in metals and/or composties that can detect “kissing bonds”. 

For a better picture of our capabilities follow the link below to one of our marketing brochures.  

LSP Trifold

LSP Technolgies is pioneering the field of using high energy lasers to non-destructively inspect adhesive bonds in composite and other bonded materials for weak or “kissing” bonds.

The use of controlled, localized stress waves in materials and bonded joints offers new opportunities for the characterization of structures.  Bonded joints in particular benefit from this application because there is no nondestructive inspection method to measure bond strength.  LSP Technologies’ Laser Bond Inspection uses a high peak power short pulse laser to perform a localized proof test of a bond. The method can be nondestructively applied to strong bonds but will fail a weak bond, creating an internal disbond that is detectable by the laser bond inspection system itself or by post test ultrasonic inspection. 

To date numerous tests have shown the method to be sensitive to weak bonds in carbon fiber reinforced polymer composites structure bonds created by poor adhesive mixing, improper surface preparation or contamination.

To Learn More  click on the link.

Flash
http://mediazone.brighttalk.com/comm/ReedElsevier/33bdd84a70-22762-2251-24177

Windows Media
http://mediazone.brighttalk.com/comm/ReedElsevier/b3a9cda1c2-22762-2250-24176

Originally published in NTIAC newsletter: Volume 30, No. 2, June 2005.

Authored by Richard H Bossi, Kevin R Housen, and Craig T Walters

SUMMARY
Extensive experimental development, supported by 1-and 2-D hydrodynamic code simulations has demonstrated that the strength of bonds can be tested using calibrated weak shock waves (stress waves) generated at the surface of composite (and other) joints. Previously full-scale roof testing of bonded structure has been the only sure method of detecting “kissing” or weak bonds. Laser bond inspection (LBI), using high-intensity stress waves, has been shown to provide a method for localized testing of bond strength.
Controlled stress waves of sufficient intensity have been shown to be useful for adhesion evaluation. Gupta, et.al. demonstrated that internal bonds could be evaluated with shock waves [3-5]. Recently, high peak power, short burst laser systems have been shown to reliably and repeatedly test the strength of internal bondlines in composite joints of reasonable (6 to 15 mm total thickness) [6]. Modeling of the method has shown that the laser beam shape results in controlled, very localized testing of bond strength. A compact high peak power laser system and team delivery method has been designed for factory implementation. To date, numerous tests on composite to composite bonds have shown the method to be sensitive to weak bonds created by
poor adhesive mixing, improper surface preparation and/or contamination.

To download the entire article- as a pdf: Laser Bond Inspection Device for Composites: Has the Holy Grail Been Found?