Patent ID: 7913538

Claim:
An evaluation method for monitoring consequences of an impact at low speed and force on a structural composite material part covered with a film that changes color when under pressure and whose color intensity is directly related to a received shock force, the method comprising: calibrating a film by testing an impact on test parts covered in the film that are identical to a structural composite material part or on test tubes covered in the film, the test tubes being representative of the structural composite material part, to establish a link between a received shock force and a change in color in the film; evaluating impacted areas of the test parts or test tubes using an appropriate qualification method selected from the group consisting of x-ray or ultrasound to correlate the change in color in the film and a nature and extent of any structural disturbance of subjacent layers of the impacted area; and establishing a scale of correspondences enabling qualification against a limiting threshold for acceptance of the structural composite material part covered with the film.