Recent Trends in Non-Destructive Testing Approaches for Composite Materials: A Review of Successful Implementations

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Engineering
• Nondestructive Testing

Background:

• Composite materials are crucial in aerospace and renewable energy sectors.
• Structural integrity and defect detection in composites necessitate robust Non-destructive Testing (NDT) methods.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review recent trends and successful implementations of NDT techniques for composite materials (2015-2025).
• To provide insights into the capabilities and limitations of various NDT methods.
• To suggest future research directions for enhanced composite quality control.

Main Methods:

• Systematic literature review of 120 articles published between 2015 and 2025.
• Analysis of techniques including ultrasonic testing (UT), acoustic emission testing (AET), thermography (TR), radiographic testing (RT), eddy current testing (ECT), infrared thermography (IRT), X-ray computed tomography (XCT), and digital radiography testing (DRT).

Main Results:

• Identified key NDT methods for detecting defects like debonding, delamination, and voids in fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites.
• Demonstrated that the choice of NDT depends on material properties, defect types, and testing conditions.
• Highlighted that combining multiple NDT methods improves composite quality assessment.

Conclusions:

• NDT plays a critical role in ensuring the reliability of composite materials.
• Future trends point towards multimodal NDT, digital twin integration, Industry 4.0, embedded structural health monitoring, and AI for automated defect interpretation.
• Advancements aim to transform NDT into an intelligent, predictive, and integrated quality assurance system.