In recent years, there has been a substantial growth in the application of carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) composite materials in automobile and aerospace industries due to their superior properties such as lightweight, high strength, excellent corrosion resistance, and minimal fatigue concerns. The present study evaluates the drilling performance of woven carbon fiber reinforced plastics under both dry and cryogenic cooling conditions using uncoated solid carbide drill with a through-hole for coolant application. The effects of the cooling conditions and the cutting parameters on drilling performance in drilling CFRP were evaluated in terms of generated thrust force, torque, cutting edge radius, outer corner flank wear, hole quality (including surface roughness, diameter error, roundness, delamination, burr formation, sub-surface quality). Both cooling conditions and cutting parameters were found to influence the thrust force and torque at different levels. The thrust force and the torque are higher in cryogenic cooling under all cutting parameters. In most of the cases, cryogenic drilling gives better bore-hole quality with lower surface roughness, more accurate diameter, less burr generation, better sub-surface quality, etc. Also, the tool-wear rates measured in drilling shows that cryogenic drilling produces less tool-wear than dry drilling does.

A large inventory of low rise masonry buildings in Canada and elsewhere in the world were built using unreinforced or partially reinforced load bearing wall. The majority of existing masonry structures is deficient in resisting seismic force demands specified in current building codes. Therefore, they pose significant risk to life safety and economic wellbeing of any major metropolitan centre. Because it is not economically feasible to replace the existing substandard buildings with new and improved structures, seismic retrofitting remains to be an economically viable option. The effectiveness of surface bonded carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) sheets in retrofitting low-rise load bearing masonry walls was investigated in the current research project. The retrofit technique included the enhancements in wall capacity in shear and flexure, as well as anchoring the walls to the supporting elements through appropriate anchorage systems. Both FRP fan type anchors and steel sheet anchors were investigated for elastic and inelastic wall response. One partially reinforced masonry (PRM) wall and one unreinforced masonry (URM) wall were built, instrumented and tested under simulated seismic loading to develop the retrofit technique. The walls were retrofitted with CFRP sheets applied only on one side to represent a frequently encountered constraint in practice. FRP fan anchors and stainless steel sheet anchors were used to connect the vertical FRP sheets to the wall foundation. The walls were tested under constant gravity load and incrementally increasing in-plane deformation reversals. The lateral load capacities of both walls were enhanced significantly. The steel sheet anchors also resulted in some ductility. In addition, some small-scale tests were performed to select appropriate anchor materials. It was concluded that ductile stainless steel sheet anchors would be the best option for brittle URM walls. Analytical research was conducted to assess the applicability of truss analogy to retrofitted walls. An analytical model was developed and load displacement relationships were generated for the two walls that were retrofitted. The analytical results were compared with those obtained experimentally, indicating good agreement in force resistance for use as a design tool.

Performance of bridges during previous earthquakes has demonstrated that many structural failures could be attributed to seismic deficiencies in bridge columns. Lack of transverse reinforcement and inadequate splicing of longitudinal reinforcement in potential plastic hinge regions of columns constitute primary reasons for their poor performance. A number of column retrofit techniques have been developed and tested in the past. These techniques include steel jacketing, reinforced concrete jacketing and use of transverse prestressing (RetroBelt) for concrete confinement, shear strengthening and splice clamping. A new retrofit technique, involving fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) jacketing has emerged as a convenient and structurally sound alternative with improved durability. The new technique, although received acceptance in the construction industry, needs to be fully developed as a viable seismic retrofit methodology, supported by reliable design and construction procedures. The successful application of externally applied FRP jackets to existing columns, coupled with deteriorating bridge infrastructure, raised the possibility of using FRP reinforcement for new construction. Stay-in-place formwork, in the form of FRP tubes are being researched for its feasibility. The FRP stay-in-place tubes offer ease in construction, convenient formwork, and when left in place, the protection of concrete against environmental effects, including the protection of steel reinforcement against corrosion, while also serving as column transverse reinforcement. Combined experimental and analytical research was conducted in the current project to i) improve the performance of FRP column jacketing for existing bridge columns, and ii) to develop FRP stay-in-place formwork for new bridge columns. The experimental phase consisted of design, construction and testing of 7 full-scale reinforced concrete bridge columns under simulated seismic loading. The columns represented both existing seismically deficient bridge columns, and new columns in stay-in-place formwork. The existing columns were deficient in either shear, or flexure, where the flexural deficiencies stemmed from lack of concrete confinement and/or use of inadequately spliced longitudinal reinforcement. The test parameters included cross-sectional shape (circular or square), reinforcement splicing, column shear span for flexure and shear-dominant behaviour, FRP jacket thickness, as well as use of FRP tubes as stay-in-place formwork, with or without internally embedded FRP crossties. The columns were subjected to a constant axial compression and incrementally increasing inelastic deformation reversals. The results, presented and discussed in this thesis, indicate that the FRP retrofit methodology provides significant confinement to circular and square columns, improving column ductility substantially. The FRP jack also improved diagonal tension capacity of columns, changing brittle shear-dominant column behavior to ductile flexure dominant response. The jackets, when the transverse strains are controlled, are able to improve performance of inadequately spliced circular columns, while remain somewhat ineffective in improving the performance of spliced square columns. FRP stay-in-place formwork provides excellent ductility to circular and square columns in new concrete columns, offering tremendous potential for use in practice. The analytical phase of the project demonstrates that the current analytical techniques for column analysis can be used for columns with external FRP reinforcement, provided that appropriate material models are used for confined concrete, FRP composites and reinforcement steel. Plastic analysis for flexure, starting with sectional moment-curvature analysis and continuing into member analysis incorporating the formation of plastic hinging, provide excellent predictions of inelastic force-deformation envelopes of recorded hysteretic behaviour. A displacement based design procedure adapted to FRP jacketed columns, as well as columns in FRP stay-in-place formwork provide a reliable design procedure for both retrofitting existing columns and designing new FRP reinforced concrete columns.

Carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites have found a wide range of applications in the aerospace, marine, sports and automotive industries owing to their lightweight and acceptable mechanical properties compared to the commonly used metallic materials. The currently dominating method of machining CFRP is by mechanical means that has found many problems including extensive tool wear, fibre pull-out and delamination. Lasers as non-contact tools have been widely applied for cutting and drilling materials. However, machining of CFRP composites using lasers can be challenging due to inhomogeneity in the material properties and structures, which can lead to thermal damage such as charring, heat affected zones (HAZs), resin recession and delamination. In previous studies, Nd:YAG, diode pumped solid state (DPSS), CO2 (continuous wave), disk and fibre lasers were used in machining CFRP composites and the control of damage such as the size of heat affected zones (HAZ) and achieving comparable material removal rate with the mechanical processes remain a challenge. Most reported work showed a typical heat affected zone of 0.2-1.2 mm. The availability of short pulsed transversely excited atmospheric (TEA) CO2 lasers and ultra-short laser pulse sources such as picosecond lasers make it possible to improve the laser machining quality of CFRP materials. In this research, the machining of CFRP composites using a microsecond pulsed TEA CO2 laser, a state of the art high power picosecond laser and a 1 kW single mode fibre laser system was investigated. The yielded heat affected zone was less than < 25 µm for the TEA CO2 and the picosecond laser machining, although the material removal rate was low. Additionally, it has been shown that the pulsed fibre laser improved the machining quality compared to that with the continuous mode. A potential application of the fibre laser for composite repair and remanufacturing was investigated. The interactions between picosecond laser beam and CFRP composite were studied in more detail including understanding the self-limiting effect in single and multiple parallel tracks drilling/machining through both experimental and theoretical studies. Furthermore, a sequential laser and mechanical drilling of CFRP was investigated to improve the machining rate. The work performed in this PhD was driven by aerospace industry needs, with the collaboration of Rolls-Royce plc and BAE Systems as industrial partners.

Excellent properties of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) composites are usually obtained in the direction at which carbon fibers are embedded in the polymeric matrix material. The outstanding properties of this material such as high strength to weight ratio, high stiffness and high resistance to corrosion can be tailored to meet specific design applications. Despite their excellent mechanical properties, application of CFRPs has been limited to more lucrative sectors such as aerospace and automotive industries. This is mainly due to the high costs involved in manufacturing of this material. Machining, milling and drilling, is a critical part of finishing stage of manufacturing process. Milling and drilling of CFRP is complicated due to the inhomogeneous nature of the material and extreme abrasiveness of carbon fibers. This is why CFRP parts are usually made near net shape. However, no matter how close they are produced to the final shape, there still is an inevitable need for some post machining to obtain dimensional accuracies and tolerances. Problems such as fiber-matrix debonding, subsurface damage, rapid tool wear, matrix cracking, fiber pull-out, and delamination are usually expected to occur in machining CFRPs. These problems can affect the dimensional accuracy and performance of the CFRP part in its future application. To improve the efficiency of the machining processes, i.e. to reduce the costs and increase the surface quality, researchers began studying machining Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) composites. Studies into FRPs can be divided in three realms; analytical, experimental and numerical. Analytical models are only good for a limited range [0° – 75°] of Fiber Orientations , to be found from now on as “FO” in this thesis. Experimental studies are expensive and time consuming. Also, a wide variety of controlling parameters exist in an experimental machining study; including cutting parameters such as depth of cut, cutting speed, FO, spindle speed, feed rate as well as tool geometry parameters such as rake angle, clearance angle, and tool edge/nose radius. Furthermore, the powdery dust created during machining is known to cause serious health hazards for the operator. Numerical models, on the other hand, offer the unique capability of studying the complex interaction between the tool and workpiece as well as chip formation mechanisms during the cut. Large number of contributing parameters can be included in the numerical model without wasting material. Three main objectives of numerical models are to predict principal cutting force, thrust force and post-machining subsurface damage. Knowing these, one can work on optimization of machining process by tool geometry and path design. Previous numerical studies mainly focus on the orthogonal cutting of FRP composites. Thus, the existing models in the literature are two-dimensional (2D) for the most part. The 2D finite element models assume plain stress or strain condition. Accordingly, the reported results cannot be reliable and extendable to real cutting situations such as drilling and milling, where oblique cutting of the material occurs. Most of the numerical studies to date claim to predict the principle cutting forces fairly acceptable, yet not for the whole range of fiber orientations. Predicted thrust forces, on the other hand, are generally not in good agreement with experimental results at all. Subsurface damage is reported by some experimental studies and again only for a limited FO range. To address the lack of reliable force and subsurface damage prediction model for the whole FO range, this thesis aims to develop a 3D finite element model, in hope of capturing out-of-plane displacements during stress formation in different material phases (Fiber, Matrix and the Interface bonding). ABAQUS software was chosen as the most commonly used finite element simulation tool in the literature. In present work a user-defined material subroutine (VUMAT) is developed to simulate behavior of carbon fibers during the cut. Carbon fibers are assumed to behave transversely isotropic with brittle (perfectly elastic) fracture. Epoxy matrix is simulated with elasto-plastic behavior. Ductile and shear damage models are also incorporated for the matrix. Surface-based cohesive zone technique in ABAQUS is used to simulate the behavior of the zero-thickness bonding layer. The tool is modeled as a rigid body. Mechanical properties were extracted from the literature. The obtained numerical results are compared to the experimental and numerical data in literature. The model is capable of capturing principal forces very well. Cutting force increases with FO from zero to 45° and then decreases up to 135°. The simulated thrust forces are still underestimated mainly due to the fiber elastic recovery effect. Also, the developed 3D model is shown to capture the subsurface damage generally by means of a predefined dimensionless state variable called, Contact Damage (CSDMG). This variable varies between zero to one. It is stored at each time step and can be called out at the end of the analysis. It was shown that depth of fiber-matrix debonding increases with increase in FO. / Graduate

Carbon fibre reinforced polymer, or CFRP composite materials, play an increasingly important role in modern manufacturing. They are widely used in aerospace, and their use is currently spreading to other industries where high strength-to-weight ratios are required. However, machining of composites is still a challenging task and often hampered by poor quality. Despite the extensive research that was conducted on the machining of composite materials over the last few years, mechanical drilling still suffers from delamination, fibre pull-out and poor surface finish, whereas laser cutting produces microstructured defects and a taper problem. This thesis reports on the drilling of CFRP composites by demonstrating the possibility of drilling small diameter holes (i.e. 8mm) into 25.4mm thick carbon fibre reinforced polymer composites (CFRPs) using mechanical drilling and laser drilling as stand-alone processes and as a sequential combination. The research involved four main phases of experimental testing. The first part of Phase 1 involved!preliminary experiments of drilling thick CFRP to identify the most suitable drilling strategy. Three mechanical drilling strategies conducted in the same parameter by using a 2-flute uncoated WC twist drill that was assessed with respect to feasibility of drilling thick CFRP. The results showed that the single-step strategy was the most feasible strategy to drill thick CFRP compared to 2- and 4-peck drilling strategies. The second part of Phase 1 concerned the influence of speed-feed combinations on hole quality by utilising three twist drills with different materials and geometries in both an uncoated and coated condition. The results indicated that a significant increase in peel-up delamination was found with increasing feed rate. In contrast, using a constant feed rate but increasing the spindle speed seemed to reduce peel-up delamination. Furthermore, the hole entry for 2-flute uncoated WC drill bits was an uncommon study finding because most of the previous researchers experienced more damages at the hole exit and their investigation focused on the hole exit only. Currently, implementation of laser technology in cutting and drilling composites is becoming popular as an alternative solution. Various experiments were conducted with the goal of identifying the effects of machining parameters on key output measures (i.e. heat affected zone (HAZ), hole depth and other damages) in drilling of 25.4 mm thick CFRP by using a fibre laser. Phase 2 involved a number of machining parameters selected to identify the potential of a fibre laser in drilling thick CFRP composites (i.e. laser power, scanning speed, focal point plane position (FPP), assisted-gas type and gas pressure). The results proved that a fibre laser could penetrate thick CFRP to a 22mm depth only. Moreover, the spiral trepanning strategy was able to penetrate 80% out of the total thickness of the CFRP in continuous wave (CW) mode, whereas the modulated laser beam (i.e. laser pulse mode) can penetrate 67% only. This result was a major recorded breakthrough because previous research attempts cut up to 5mm only. Laser power proved to be the most influential factor for hole depth in laser drilling of thick CFRP when the spiral trepanning strategy was applied. Machining trials were conducted in Phase 3 by using a 16kW fibre laser in modulated pulsed laser mode. In this phase, laser power of more than 1kW was attempted to cut the whole thickness of CFRP composites in CW mode, but it was unsuccessful. However, a new parameter was discovered (i.e. the cooling time between passes in modulated pulsed mode), which proved a considerable reduction of HAZ when the higher cooling time was imposed. Finally, phase 4 involved the experiments of sequential laser-mechanical drilling. A 1kW fibre laser was selected as a pre-drilling or initial step and followed by mechanical drilling as the final step. The sequential drilling method successfully reduced thrust force and torque for mechanical drilling by an overall average of 61%, resulting in high productivity and decreasing the thermal and mechanical stresses in the cutting tool and, in turn, promoting higher tool life. The highest delamination factor (Fda) ratio was experienced by the sequential laser 8mm – mechanical 8mm for both tools (i.e. 2- and 3-flute uncoated tungsten carbide) and laser pre-drilling strategies (i.e. single- and double-side). Thus, a novel laser-mechanical sequential drilling technique was developed, evaluated and tested in the drilling of thick CFRP composites; this is the first time ever in drilling thick CFRP (i.e. 25.4mm).

Muitas edificações têm apresentado degradação ao longo dos anos em todo o mundo, gerando situações de risco e causando acidentes, de modo que se têm estudado alternativas para se recuperar ou reforçar estruturalmente suas vigas, pilares e lajes. Entre as técnicas desenvolvidas para essas finalidades, destacam-se, atualmente, as que utilizam compósitos de polímeros reforçados com fibras (PRF), de modo que, desde as últimas décadas do século passado, desenvolveram-se os sistemas de reforço estrutural por colagem externa de tecidos e laminados de PRF de carbono (PRFC). Isto deve-se a este tipo de fibra apresentar o melhor conjunto de propriedades necessárias para se reforçarem as estruturas de concreto armado, como altas resistência à tração e módulo de elasticidade longitudinal. Na última década, surgiu o sistema de inserção de laminados de PRFC em entalhes executados no concreto de cobrimento de elementos estruturais preenchidos com resina epóxi. Embora haja resultados de outros pesquisadores, há a necessidade de maiores investigações no Brasil sobre o desempenho dessa nova técnica. Assim se propôs o planejamento experimental desta dissertação, cujo objetivo principal foi a análise experimental do desempenho de sistemas de reforço estrutural à flexão com laminados de PRFC aplicados a vigas de concreto armado ensaiadas com carregamento estático. De um total de dez vigas pré-moldadas, quatro foram testemunhos e seis foram reforçadas à flexão com dois laminados de PRFC através de três sistemas: colagem externa, inserção em entalhes longitudinais preenchidos com resina epóxi e com argamassa com sílica ativa. Analisa-se comparativamente o seu desempenho quanto às cargas máximas, aos deslocamentos verticais no centro do vão e às aberturas de fissuras. Constata-se que as reforçadas com laminados de PRFC inseridos em entalhes longitudinais preenchidos com resina epóxi apresentam os maiores valores de carga máxima e de rigidez. Entretanto as preenchidas com argamassa com sílica ativa obtêm desempenho inferior ao das vigas testemunhos por falta de aderência. Também se conclui que as reforçadas com colagem externa de laminados de PRFC têm os menores deslocamentos verticais no centro do vão. / Many buildings have shown deterioration over the years around the world, creating a hazardous situation and causing accidents, so that they have studied alternatives to recover or strengthen their structural beams, columns and slabs. Among the techniques developed for these purposes, stand out, currently, those using fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) composites. Since the last decades of the last century, it has been developed structural reinforcement systems of externally bonded carbon FRP (CFRP) textiles and laminates. This is due to the type of fiber having the best set of properties that are necessary to strengthen reinforced concrete structures, such as high tensile strength and longitudinal elastic modulus. In the last decade, the near-surface mounted CFRP laminates system executed in grooves in the concrete cover of structural elements filled with epoxy resin came up. Although there are results from other researchers, there is a need for further investigation in Brazil on the performance of this new technique. Thus, the experimental program of this thesis has been proposed, which main objective was the experimental analysis of the performance of bending structural reinforcement systems with CFRP laminates applied to reinforced concrete beams tested under static loading. From a total of ten precast beams, four were for control and six were strengthened in bending with two CFRP laminates composites through three systems: externally bonded, near-surface mounted insertion into longitudinal grooves filled with epoxy resin and mortar with silica fume. Their performance is comparatively analyzed for maximum loads, vertical displacements at mid-span and crack openings. It is concluded that those reinforced with near-surface mounted CFRP laminates inserted into longitudinal grooves filled with epoxy resin shows the highest maximum load and stiffness. However those filled with mortar with silica fume obtained lower performance than the control beams for lack of bonding. In addition, it is concluded that the ones strengthened with externally bonded CFRP laminates have the lowest mid-span vertical displacements.

Muitas edificações têm apresentado degradação ao longo dos anos em todo o mundo, gerando situações de risco e causando acidentes, de modo que se têm estudado alternativas para se recuperar ou reforçar estruturalmente suas vigas, pilares e lajes. Entre as técnicas desenvolvidas para essas finalidades, destacam-se, atualmente, as que utilizam compósitos de polímeros reforçados com fibras (PRF), de modo que, desde as últimas décadas do século passado, desenvolveram-se os sistemas de reforço estrutural por colagem externa de tecidos e laminados de PRF de carbono (PRFC). Isto deve-se a este tipo de fibra apresentar o melhor conjunto de propriedades necessárias para se reforçarem as estruturas de concreto armado, como altas resistência à tração e módulo de elasticidade longitudinal. Na última década, surgiu o sistema de inserção de laminados de PRFC em entalhes executados no concreto de cobrimento de elementos estruturais preenchidos com resina epóxi. Embora haja resultados de outros pesquisadores, há a necessidade de maiores investigações no Brasil sobre o desempenho dessa nova técnica. Assim se propôs o planejamento experimental desta dissertação, cujo objetivo principal foi a análise experimental do desempenho de sistemas de reforço estrutural à flexão com laminados de PRFC aplicados a vigas de concreto armado ensaiadas com carregamento estático. De um total de dez vigas pré-moldadas, quatro foram testemunhos e seis foram reforçadas à flexão com dois laminados de PRFC através de três sistemas: colagem externa, inserção em entalhes longitudinais preenchidos com resina epóxi e com argamassa com sílica ativa. Analisa-se comparativamente o seu desempenho quanto às cargas máximas, aos deslocamentos verticais no centro do vão e às aberturas de fissuras. Constata-se que as reforçadas com laminados de PRFC inseridos em entalhes longitudinais preenchidos com resina epóxi apresentam os maiores valores de carga máxima e de rigidez. Entretanto as preenchidas com argamassa com sílica ativa obtêm desempenho inferior ao das vigas testemunhos por falta de aderência. Também se conclui que as reforçadas com colagem externa de laminados de PRFC têm os menores deslocamentos verticais no centro do vão. / Many buildings have shown deterioration over the years around the world, creating a hazardous situation and causing accidents, so that they have studied alternatives to recover or strengthen their structural beams, columns and slabs. Among the techniques developed for these purposes, stand out, currently, those using fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) composites. Since the last decades of the last century, it has been developed structural reinforcement systems of externally bonded carbon FRP (CFRP) textiles and laminates. This is due to the type of fiber having the best set of properties that are necessary to strengthen reinforced concrete structures, such as high tensile strength and longitudinal elastic modulus. In the last decade, the near-surface mounted CFRP laminates system executed in grooves in the concrete cover of structural elements filled with epoxy resin came up. Although there are results from other researchers, there is a need for further investigation in Brazil on the performance of this new technique. Thus, the experimental program of this thesis has been proposed, which main objective was the experimental analysis of the performance of bending structural reinforcement systems with CFRP laminates applied to reinforced concrete beams tested under static loading. From a total of ten precast beams, four were for control and six were strengthened in bending with two CFRP laminates composites through three systems: externally bonded, near-surface mounted insertion into longitudinal grooves filled with epoxy resin and mortar with silica fume. Their performance is comparatively analyzed for maximum loads, vertical displacements at mid-span and crack openings. It is concluded that those reinforced with near-surface mounted CFRP laminates inserted into longitudinal grooves filled with epoxy resin shows the highest maximum load and stiffness. However those filled with mortar with silica fume obtained lower performance than the control beams for lack of bonding. In addition, it is concluded that the ones strengthened with externally bonded CFRP laminates have the lowest mid-span vertical displacements.

This thesis studies the static and fatigue failure of carbon fibre-epoxy composite for marine use. The primary objective is to investigate the effects of sea water ingress on the static and cyclic performance of laminated composites, by using the combination of experimental, numerical and analytical approaches. Experiments were carried out to collect evidence, including data and images, for further analysis. Samples were made from autoclave-cured carbon fibre-epoxy pre-preg for the static, moisture diffusion and fatigue tests. Three chambers were used in the diffusion test, containing fresh water (tap water), sea water and sea water at 70 bar hydrostatic pressure respectively. And the chambers were placed in an oven at a constant temperature 50 °C in order to accelerate the water absorption. Optical and scanning electron microscopies (SEM) were employed to inspect for manufacturing defects and to identify the failure modes. Some formulae were derived to predict the material properties of laminated composites, to validate the mechanical tests, and to explain the failure criteria of composites. Finite element analysis (FEA) was employed to study the phenomena that were observed in the experiments. FEA has the aim to simulate the static, diffusion and fatigue behaviour involving multiphysics and multiscale effects. The FEA modelling has revealed details of the stress and moisture distributions, which have helped to understand the failure mechanisms of laminated composites. Classical laminate theory (CLT) was employed to develop an analytical model. The basic principles of CLT were extended to three-dimensions, and the analytical solution was critically compared with the FEA results. Some MATLAB tools based on CLT were developed to predict the properties of laminated composites and to analyse the experimental data. These MATLAB codes are shown in the appendix. This thesis has contributed to an improved knowledge of the failure mechanisms of composite materials in both normal and marine environments, and to optimize structural design of FRP composites.

This thesis deals with design of an eddy current transducer which enables non-destructive inspection of composite aircraft structures primarily carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) in areas of manufacture and maintenance. The design of the transducer is based on analytical-experimental approach and its electrical and mechanical parameters were optimized to ensure a good signal to noise ratio at the six composite samples. These samples contain artificial discontinuities in the form of various types of defects. These defects are simulating the various types of damage created in the aircraft structure, especially delamination or thickness changes of composite materials. The experimental measurements, data collection and non-destructive evaluation were performed during the period. The result of this work is functional eddy current probe, which is reliably able to detect some damage of the carbon composite structures to the depth of 3,9 mm.