Non-destructive testing of a rotating glass-fibre-reinforced polymer disc by swept source optical coherence tomography

Abstract

Composite materials are used for high-performance rotating blades, e.g. in turbines and wind power plants. Here, optical coherence tomography was used to visualize large areas of fibre-reinforcedpolymer discs at rotation speeds of up to 1200 rpm. These measurements allowed to visualize the fibre structure over large areas of the disc. By recording the front and back reflex, the wobble of the disc was measured precisely. Additionally, the recorded structure was used to detect even small deviations from a uniform rotation.