Ensuring Aircraft Safety with PAUT: The Role of Reliable Probes – PAUT of Composites

Lightweight, strong, and resistant to fatigue and corrosion, composites now make up more than half the structural weight of many commercial aircraft. Ensuring the integrity of these advanced materials requires inspection tools that are just as advanced. That’s where Phased Array Ultrasonic Testing (PAUT) and high-performance probes from Vermon NDT come in.

Applications of PAUT in Aerospace Composites

PAUT has become a preferred NDT method for composite inspections thanks to its ability to steer and focus sound beams for detailed imaging of internal structures. In aerospace, PAUT is commonly used for:

• Bond integrity checks in carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) skins
• Detection of delaminations, disbonds, and porosity in honeycomb sandwich panels
• Inspection of composite repairs on aircraft fuselage and wing structures
• Quality control of composite parts during manufacturing (e.g., stringers, ribs, bulkheads)
• In-service inspections of control surfaces, nacelles, and fairings

Vermon Probes Built for Composite Challenges

Vermon NDT manufactures a wide range of PAUT probes engineered specifically for the challenges of aerospace composites:

• Low-Frequency Linear Array Probes (0.5 MHz & 1 MHz) – These probes offer deeper penetration and are particularly effective for thick or attenuative composite structures, such as heavily loaded CFRP components or bonded assemblies with core materials, and are available exclusively upon custom request.
• High-Frequency Linear Array Probes – Ideal for scanning large, flat composite panels where high resolution is critical for identifying small defects like delaminations or inclusions.
• Dual Matrix Array Probes – Well-suited for anisotropic materials, these probes offer superior focusing and resolution to detect subtle discontinuities in complex layups and geometries.

All of these Vermon probes are designed with aerospace in mind—robust, precise, and built to provide high-resolution data across a wide range of composite configurations.

Why Probe Quality, Compatibility, and Availability Matter

Not all probes are created equal—especially when you're inspecting critical aerospace components. Probe stability, precision, and build quality directly affect the reliability of the inspection results. At Vermon NDT, we understand that technicians and engineers need tools they can trust—tools that don’t drift, degrade, or fail mid-inspection.

Our probes are manufactured to the highest standards and are fully compatible with all major PAUT systems on the market, providing unmatched flexibility for field or lab use. Better yet, we stock what we sell—so you don’t have to wait weeks or months for the probes your job depends on.

Aircraft safety starts with trusted inspection. When you’re inspecting aerospace composites, using PAUT probes from Vermon NDT ensures you’re getting the best in reliability, performance, and availability. Because when your work keeps people safely in the air, your tools need to be just as dependable.

Learn more and explore our full line of PAUT probes at pautprobes.com.