Systems and methods for detecting discontinuous fibers in composite
laminates are disclosed. In one embodiment, a method includes
transmitting an incident ultrasonic signal onto a front surface of a
composite laminate at a plurality of locations over an area of interest,
receiving a full waveform at each of the plurality of locations over the
area of interest, storing the full waveform at each of the plurality of
locations over the area of interest, and analyzing the full waveform at
each of the plurality of locations over the area of interest for an
amplitude distortion indicative of a fiber discontinuity within the
composite laminate, including selecting a gate value corresponding to a
depth location within the composite laminate and displaying a C-scan
image of an amplitude value from the full waveform at the plurality of
locations over the area of interest.