Precision Fibre Angle Inspection for Carbon Fibre Composite Structures Using Polarisation Vision

This paper evaluates the precision of polarisation imaging technology for the inspection of carbon fibre composite components. Specifically, it assesses the feasibility of the technology for fibre orientation measurements based on the premise that light is polarised by reflection from such anisotropically conductive surfaces. A recently commercialised Sony IMX250MZR sensor is used for data capture by using various lighting conditions. The paper shows that it is possible to obtain sub-degree accuracy for cured and dry woven and unidirectional materials in ideal conditions, which comprised dark field illumination. Indeed, in ideal conditions, the average relative angles can be measured to an accuracy of 0.1–0.2°. The results also demonstrate a precision of the order 1° for more general illumination, such as dome illumination and ambient lighting, for certain material type/lens combinations. However, it is also shown that the precision varies considerably depending on illumination, lens choice and material type, with some results having errors above 2°. Finally, a feasibility study into the inspection of three-dimensional components suggests that only limited application is possible for non-planar regions without further research. Nevertheless, the observed phenomena for such components are, at least, qualitatively understood based on physics theory.