Estimating the depth and width of arbitrarily-oriented disbonds in laminates using shearography

Disbonds in a laminated plate are readily revealed from anomalies in the fringe pattern of a shearogram. The shearographic fringes represent loci of constant displacement derivatives of the deformed surface of the plate when subjected to a load increment such as vacuum stressing. In this investigation, a simple method is developed for easy estimation of the size and depth of arbitrarily-oriented square disbonds in laminated plates from a shearogram. The theory and experimental method presented may also be extended to the assessment of disbonds of arbitrary shapes.