Advanced Composite Inspection & Assurance

Overview for Carbon Fibre Testing

Specialist NDT for advanced composite structures across industries

Insurance & Warranty Inspections

Independent composite condition assessments for:

• Claims & incident verification

• Pre-purchase surveys

• Shipyard refit QA & sign-off

• Repair confirmation

• Warranty continuity documentation

Damage Detection & Quantification

High-resolution subsurface defect detection:

• Delamination & disbond mapping

• Foam/core crush from hull slamming

• Barely Visible Impact Damage (BVID) detection

Lightning Strike Investigation

Specialist assessment for carbon laminates where electrical pathways differ from metals. We evaluate:

• Arc strike zone

• Matrix micro-cracking through change of stiffness detection
  Applies to masts, hulls, appendages & rigging structures.

Industry research validates combined NDT techniques for assessing composite lightning-damage and subsurface failure.

Race Readiness & Performance Assurance

Keep structures safe and fast:

• Pre-campaign baseline scans

• Post-grounding / impact rapid assessment (quantify the damaged area)

• Winch, chainplate & highly-loaded structure testing

• Slamming zone shearography screening

Racing Yachts

Non-destructive testing tailored for performance racing yachts and foiling craft ensuring safety on every jibe, on every wave.

Sporting Equipment

Precision inspection solutions for critical carbon fibre sporting goods such as bicycles, dinghies etc

Yacht Integrity

Testing of all carbon fibre yachts including - motor yachts, sail, cruising, racing or foiling craft

Typical Items on Yachts for Testing

There are many components within a racing yacht that can benefit from NDT.

CarbonTest, can assist with testing them all and developing an inspection plan to spread out the inspection campaign over several years to help reduce the cost.

Laser Shearography

Laser shearography is a full-field, non-destructive inspection method that uses coherent laser light and controlled stress to reveal subsurface defects such as delamination, core shear failure, and disbonds in composite yacht hulls. It is particularly effective for large, curved structures because it rapidly visualises minute surface deformations that indicate hidden structural issues.

In the above clip, you can see lamb waves being generated in the test object (lower part) that then shows five subsurface defects (top part).