Laser induced 2D phased array for composite material inspection

Laser induced phased arrays (LIPAs) have several advantages over traditional piezoelectric ultrasound arrays in terms of their non-contact, couplant free nature, and their ability to change array geometry during an inspection as the element positions are not fixed. The proposed research will design a 2D LIPA for inspection of defects in composite materials using simulated data and implement the array design in experiments. The successful outcome of the research will demonstrate the suitability of using LIPA as 2D array in improving defect inspection and characterisation in composite material.