Error Analysis of Non-Destructive Ultrasonic Testing of Glass Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Hull Plates

Glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) ship structures are generally fabricated by hand lay-up; thus, the environmental factors and worker proficiency influence fabrication process presence of error in non-destructive evaluation results. In this study, ultrasonic testing GFRP hull plate prototypes was conducted to investigate statistical significance influences design parameters, e.g., glass fiber weight fraction (Gc) thickness variations, on measurement error. The were fitted with E-glass chopped strand mats (40 wt % content) different thicknesses (7.72 mm, 14.63 18.24 mm). errors measurements investigated conducting pulse-echo A-scan. variation resulted increased Furthermore, burn-off tests qualities. Defects such as voids did not have a significant analysis confirmed that variations strong interference between plates, although plates had similar specific gravity values. Therefore, layer group interface should be considered decrease NDE respect an increase Gc.