Resonance Bond Testing: Theory and Application

Resonance bond testing is a nondestructive testing (NDT) technique that is used to detect disbonds, delaminations, and other voids in composite materials. The aerospace industry has seen an increase in the use of carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP) for aircraft and spacecraft construction. Composite materials offer many advantages over traditional metallic structures, which include weight savings, increased strength, design for specific load paths, and the ability to easily construct geometrically complex structures. Resonance bond testing has many established uses for metallic structures as well, such as aluminum skin-to-skin and skin-to-core bonds. This bond testing technique has been around for many decades but is used by only a small portion of the NDT community. Ultrasonic testing (UT), specifically phased array ultrasonic testing (PAUT), using linear array techniques has proven to be a reliable method for the inspection of CFRP laminates. When composite structures do not permit the use of high-frequency sound waves due to rapid attenuation, resonance bond testing is a proven alternative. In this paper, the authors will discuss the theory behind resonance bond testing and how it has and continues to play an important role in the NDT industry.