Non-destructive testing of GFRP materials by Fourier-domain Infrared Optical Coherence Tomography

Fourier-domain (or spectral-domain) Infrared Optical Coherence Tomography (FDOCT) can penetrate into the scattering material noncontactly and therefore it can be used to characterize and image the inner structure of material in a non-invasive manner. In the paper, glass-fibre reinforced polymer (GFRP) materials were quantitatively characterized by using home-made FDOCT system. In the developed FDOCT system, a 50W Tungsten halogen lamp and a high-performance spectrometer are, respectively, employed as the light source and the detector. The broadband of the spectrometer and thermal light source results in the FDOCT system with high robust performance and an excellent depth resolution of 0.7 um. From the experimental results, the developed FDOCT system could be recommended in non-destructive testing or health monitoring of GFRP materials.