A comparative study of ultrasonic c-scan, micro-CT, infrared thermography and Terahertz NDT based on experiments and simulations of composites

Infrared thermography (IRT) is increasingly used to detect defects in composites. However, IRT of composites faces more challenges due to their complex structure compared to that of monolithic-materials. In this article, the authors built model to perform IRT simulations of several types of defects found in composites. Subsequently IRT experiments were performed to verify simulation results. And then, Ultrasound C-scan, micro-CT and Terahertz NDT are preformed to conduct a comparative study of different NDT techniques. Finally, a comparison of the detection capabilities of different NDT techniques was conducted through matching and fusing of the results of experiments and simulations.