Laser Shearography

“Components up to 2m² can be recorded and interpreted in less than 60 seconds.”

Laser Shearography is an optical NDT technique based on laser-speckle shearing interferometry. When a load or excitation is applied to a surface, the sensor captures out-of-plane strain as a phase map. The technique detects surface bending at sub-micrometer sensitivity and these defects appear as fringes that visually represent the difference between reference and deformed states. Laser Shearography is recommended for inspecting honeycombs, laminates, bondings, coatings, compounds, ceramics, foams, and sealants for defects. NDT Systems is working with sister company Dantec Dynamics to offer this NDT Solution to our customers.

Advantages of Laser Shearography

Laser Shearography delivers reliable results as economically as possible.

• Cut Inspection Time in Half: Compared to ultrasonic phased-array gantry systems, LS maintains the same reliability while cutting total inspection time by 50%.
• Massive Throughput: Large-bodied aerospace components up to 2m² can be recorded and interpreted in less than 60 seconds.
• Zero Disassembly: Unlike X-ray radiography, components do not need to be disassembled before inspection (to say nothing about needing to control for radiation in your testing environment and extensively train staff)

And there’s no sacrificing accuracy for the sake of speed. In a study commissioned by the FAA on composite honeycomb aircraft structures, Laser Shearography outperformed traditional methods:

• Top Probability of Detection (PoD): LS demonstrated the best average 90% PoD, finding the smallest defects across all reference panels.
• Lowest False Call Rate: LS achieved the best average false call rate of 0.2 – performing substantially better than ultrasonics and radiography.
• Unrivalled Detectability: LS effectively detects “invisible” defects that other technologies miss, including kissing bonds, node bond splits, and ply wrinkling.

If you are looking to improve your NDT efficiency and want to discuss laser shearography with a member of our team, please complete the form below: