Patent 11852620 was granted and assigned to The Boeing Company on December, 2023 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
A system for evaluating a bond includes a first electrode and a second electrode that are spaced apart from one another. The system also includes a sacrificial material layer positioned proximate to a surface of a bonded structure that includes the bond. The system also includes a power source configured to cause the first and second electrodes to generate an electrical arc that at least partially ablates the sacrificial material layer as part of a non-destructive inspection of the bond.