X-ray tomography facilities at CEA Tech's Elixir platform in Nantes have been used to inspect the foils on boats developed by SEAir. The aim was to optimize the manufacture of these components, and assess their health after several uses at sea.
Based in Lorient, France, SEAir develops tailor-made foils to give boats "wings". These structures, which enable boats to fly over the water, are made of composite materials and must withstand considerable mechanical stress when used at sea. They are made up of two parts: carbon-fiber sheets molded onto a support and impregnated with resin.
To enable SEAir to compare the properties of foils manufactured by hand with those produced by a robotized arm, CEA Tech Pays de la Loire's Elixir platform offered SEAir the use of its new X-ray tomography inspection facilities for large-scale parts. The analyses carried out revealed that the manually-manufactured parts contained more porosities, mainly located in the bonding plane of the two parts of the structure.
This collaboration also enabled the Elixir platform to test and validate its imaging facility, specially sized to handle large parts. Data processing software was also modified to enable faster reconstruction and correction of artifacts.
Find out more about Elixir :
https://www.cea-tech.fr/cea-tech/Pages/en-regions/pfa-fiabilite-materiaux.aspx