Manufacturing Technology 2026, 26(1):14-25 | DOI: 10.21062/mft.2026.003

Ultrasonic-Based Active Thermography for Determining Depth Detection Limits in Onyx Composites

Lucia Deganová ORCID...1, Vladimír Dekýš ORCID...1, Milan Sapieta ORCID...1, Alžbeta Sapietová ORCID...1
1 Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Žilina. Univerzitna 8215, 010 26 Zilina, Slovak Republic

This paper examines the detection of internal defects in composite specimens composed of Onyx, a material featuring a nylon matrix reinforced with chopped carbon fibers. Artificial defects, in the form of flat-bottom holes of various geometries, were intentionally introduced during the additive manufac-turing process. The primary objective is to determine the depth detection capabilities of ultrasound by varying the excitation frequency and determining whether these defects remain identifiable at different subsurface levels. Ultrasonic lock-in thermography is utilized to excite specimens. As the frequency is modified, the depth of wave propagation also changes, a phenomenon well established in homogene-ous materials. However, the heterogeneous nature of Onyx introduces complexities into wave propa-gation. The recorded thermographic data are processed in MATLAB to calculate contrast ratio values, enabling a quantitative comparison of defect detectability for different defect geometries.

Keywords: Onyx composite, Ultrasonic thermography, Lock-in, Depth detection, MATLAB
Grants and funding:

This research was supported by the Scientific Grant Agency VEGA under project No. 1/0753/24 and by the Cultural and Educational Grant Agency KEGA under project No. 020ŽU-4/2025 and the EU NextGenerationEU through the Recovery and Resilience Plan for Slovakia under the project No. 09I03-03-V05-00002

Received: September 10, 2025; Revised: January 3, 2026; Accepted: January 9, 2026; Prepublished online: March 20, 2026; Published: March 21, 2026  Show citation

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Deganová L, Dekýš V, Sapieta M, Sapietová A. Ultrasonic-Based Active Thermography for Determining Depth Detection Limits in Onyx Composites. Manufacturing Technology. 2026;26(1):14-25. doi: 10.21062/mft.2026.003.
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