Testing an electronic nose for pre-bond NDT in realistic CFRP parts assembly and repair

Lightweight green aircraft development goals rely on the massive use of CFRP - Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymers - for aircraft assembly. However, the lack of a validated NDT methodology for bond quality assurance is slowing down their adoption in primary structures. In particular, during pre-bond phase it is necessary to check for surface contaminations that could hamper the effectiveness of the adhesive bond. Among different techniques under screening, electronic noses (e-noses) remain a very promising tool for detection and identification of surface contaminants. In this work, we report the results of a test campaign conducted in the framework of COMBONDT project. An ad-hoc designed platform is tested in realistic conditions, i.e. using curved samples or real aircraft parts for assessing the tool capability. Design of the e-nose architecture as well as data processing techniques are also presented.