Ege Arabul (BCI, University of Bristol), Per Saunders (Metrology, NCC), Robert Hughes (UNDT, University of Bristol)
As industries like aerospace, automotive, and renewable energy increasingly rely on high-performance carbon fibre composites, ensuring these materials are made perfectly – without defects – is more important than ever.
Current inspection methods mostly rely on visual checks or tests carried out after manufacturing is complete, when fixing problems is too late.
Our team at the Bristol Composites Institute (BCI), working with the National Composites Centre (NCC) and the Ultrasonics and NDT (UNDT) research group, has developed a new type of sensor that can spot issues during manufacturing, before the part is finished when remanufacture is more easily performed.
This Bi-directional Differential Eddy-Current Testing (ECT) Sensor uses the natural conductivity of carbon fibres to detect changes in how the fibres are laid down, revealing tiny gaps, overlaps, wrinkles, and other defects in real time.
We’ve successfully tested the sensor within the Hydrogen Tank and Automated Tape Laying manufacturing cells at the NCC, where it was able to identify and help correct defects as they appeared – saving time, reducing waste, and improving production quality.
This innovation marks a major step toward real-time, in-process inspection in composite manufacturing, cutting out costly post-production testing.
The work now continues within the FENDER project, where we’re inviting industry partners and researchers to join us in shaping the future of smart, automated composite manufacturing.
