Sensors for monitoring the processing of carbon-carbon composites

Carbon-carbon composite are used in many applications including aircraft disk brakes, space shuttle leading edges, rocket inlet nozzles and exit cones, and are currently being considered for future aircraft structural components, because of their mechanical stability under adverse temperature conditions. Unfortunately, the processing of carbon-carbon composites, especially the first carbonizations, has a relatively low yield, because of in-process interply failure leading to catastrophic delaminations. Considerable amount of man-power, equipment time and material are lost. Here we report on the progress in the development of sensors for monitoring these catastrophic events during the first carbonization. Specifically, acoustic emission sensors and gas sensors are singled out as the most promising ones for monitoring the evolution of micro and macro-structural changes during the first carbonization. Analysis of the high temperature waveguide was undertaken to determine the optimum waveguide geometry so that only a single mode is allowed to propagate in the waveguide.