Comparison of the Structural Irregularity and Damage Evaluation Routine (SIDER) Inspection Method with Ultrasonic and Thermographic Inspections to Locate Impact Damage on an A320 Vertical Stabilizer.

The U.S. Navy is currently involved in the development of several large area composite structures for fleet implementation. Techniques to provide rapid nondestructive inspection of large area composite structural components are required for these applications. An inspection technique, structural irregularity and damage evaluation routine (SIDER), has been developed by the Navy to rapidly locate areas of stiffness variation that results from processing anomalies and in-service damage. SIDER was used to locate impact damage created on an A320 vertical stabilizer. Various impact energy levels were used, from 50 J, simulating barely visible impact damage, to 120 J, simulating significant impact damage. The SIDER results were compared with conventional ultrasonic and thermographic inspections. © 2007 American Institute of Physics [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]