Patent ID: 9632063
Date: 2017-04-25
CPC Classifications: G01N

Claim:
1. A diagnostic apparatus for detecting delamination in the thickness of a laminated composite panel, which apparatus comprises: an ultrasonic probe configured to be brought into contact with a face of said panel and moved over said face, said probe comprising a wheel housing a plurality of elementary transducers, wherein the wheel is configured to be placed into contact with the laminated composite panel, and an electronic device connected to each of said transducers to control emission and reception of ultrasonic pulses by said probe by the activation of at least one of the elementary transducers, a display device having at least a first indicator configured to be activated by the electronic device when the electronic device detects a presence of delamination in the panel, said electronic device configured to calculate a value of a coupling indicator of a coupling of said ultrasonic probe with said face, and to switch, if the value of the coupling indicator is equal to a predetermined value, from a coupling mode to a scanning mode, the scanning mode being such that, during emission, the electronic device transmits a pulsed signal successively to the elementary transducers according to a predetermined activation sequence for the elementary transducers, and such that, during reception, the electronic device analyzes reflections of the pulsed signals received by the elementary transducers to detect delamination in a predetermined depth range of a thickness of said panel, wherein the predetermined depth range is defined by a minimal depth and a maximum depth, and the minimal depth is a depth below a surface of the laminated composite panel in contact with the wheel and the maximum depth is a depth less than a thickness of the laminated composite panel.