JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #100 - Special JEC Asia - October 2015 - 57

NDT

Non-destructive testing
of composites benefits boat racing
We can thank the maritime industry for the "Bateau des Métiers"
project at the Aérocampus. The principal aim of the project is to
harness aeronautical and marine expertise to benefit training.

By
Jérome raynal, sales Director,
comPosite integrity, PPe
luDovic mauFFeron,
sales manager, sw France,
grouPe institut De souDure

hanks to the Aérocampus Aquitaine - a campus in southwestern
France dedicated to the aerospace
industry and recognized by the largest
French groups (e.g. Dassault and Airbus
Hélicoptère) - the Bateau des Métiers
project was able to prepare a racing sailboat with the help of regional marine and
aeronautical expertise.
On the boat itself, the company Composite Integrity and the Institut de Soudure
(welding institute) carried out a number
of essential inspections to determine its

A battery of tests
The 27-metre-long mast was ultrasonically tested at 700 different points. The
boom and rudder blades were also tested
to verify the absence of defects or damage (delamination, porosity or lack of
adhesion of any repairs during the life of
the composite components). Tap tests
were carried out to detect defects in the
bonded assemblies (tapping the material
to detect changes in sound).
The monohull belonging to Arnaud
Boissières and his co-skipper Stanislas
Maslard was prepared for the 2015
Transat Jacques Vabre, a "warmup" for

The Bateau des Métiers with mast unstepped for
inspection, at the Vendée Globe landing stage

the 2016 Vendée Globe. For the record,
Arnaud Boissières is the skipper of
the 60-foot IMOCA-class boat Akena
Vérandas. He finished seventh in the
2008-2009 Vendée Globe 2008-2009
on board the former VMI, skippered by
Sébastien Josse in the previous Vendée
Globe1 event. In 2010, Arnaud Boissières entered the Route du Rhum race
for the first time, finishing in seventh
place on his 60-foot Akena Vérandas, and
in 2012, he set sail again in the Vendée
Globe, finishing eighth.

Two specialized partners
The two companies that participated in
the project are the Institut de Soudure,
an NDT expert, and Composite Integrity
which, as mentioned above, is dedicated

No100 October 2015 / jec

Feature Marine

When the boat returned from Spain, the first training project (painting the sails) was co-organized at
the Aérocampus Aquitaine with IFI Peinture. More
than 500 square metres of sail were cleaned and
painted, including the gennaker

material health. Composite Integrity is
a subsidiary shared by the PPE and the
Institut de Soudure. Created in 2010,
it specializes in non-destructive testing
(NDT) of composite parts. Composite Integrity is PRI-Nadcap accredited
and proposes not only the inspection
of parts, but also technological assistance and development. The Bateau des
Métiers is an IMOCA-class boat, and according to IMOCA rules, each mast must
undergo annual ultrasonic inspections,
and one before being commissioned.
This is where the two composite NDT
specialists are playing a part.

composites magazine 57

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #100 - Special JEC Asia - October 2015