a b s t r a c tEddy current testing is well established for non-destructive testing of electrical conductive materials [1]. The development of radio frequency (RF) eddy current technology with frequency ranges up to 100 MHz made it possible to extend the classical fields of application even towards less conductive materials like CFRP [2][3]( Table 2). It turns out that RF eddy current technology on CFRP generates a growing number of valuable information for comprehensive material diagnostic. Both permittivity and conductivity of CFRP influence the complex impedance measured with RF eddy current devices. The electrical conductivity contains information about fiber texture like orientations, gaps or undulations in a multilayered material. The permittivity characterization influenced by dielectric properties allows the determination of local curing defects on CFRP e.g. hot spots, thermal impacts or polymer degradation. An explanation for that effect is seen in the measurement frequency range and the capacitive structure of the carbon rovings. Using radio wave frequencies for testing, the effect of displacement currents cannot be neglected anymore. The capacitive structures formed by the carbon rovings is supposed to further strengthen the dielectric influences on eddy current measurement signal [3]. This report gives an overview of several realized applications and should be understood as a general introduction of CFRP testing by HF Radio Wave techniques.

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Ensuring the correct fiber orientation in draped textiles and 3D preforms is one of the current challenges in the production of carbon-fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP), especially in resin transfer molding (RTM). Small deviations in fiber angle during preforming have a considerable effect on the mechanical properties of the final composite. Therefore, this paper presents an automated method for determining local yarn orientation in three-dimensionally draped, multi-layered fabrics. The draped fabric is scanned with a robot-guided high-frequency eddy current sensor to obtain an image of the sample's local conductivity and permittivity. From this image, the fiber orientation not only of the upper, but also of the lower, optically non-visible layers can be analyzed. A 2D Fast Fourier Transform is applied to local segments of the eddy current image to determine the local yarn orientation. Guidelines for processing the eddy current data, including phase rotation, filtering and evaluation segment size, are derived. For an intuitive visualization and analysis of the determined yarn orientation, reference yarn paths are reconstructed from the determined yarn angles. The developed process can be applied to quality inspection, process development and the validation of forming simulation results

Eddy current testing is well established for non-destructive testing of electrical conductive materials. The development of radio frequency (RF) eddy current technology with frequency ranges up to 100 MHz made it possible to extend the classical fields of application even towards less conductive materials like CFRP. It turns out that RF eddy current technology on CFRP generates a growing number of valuable information for comprehensive material diagnostic. Both permittivity and conductivity of CFRP influence the complex impedance measured with RF eddy current devices