Automated thermographic defect recognition and measurement Available to Purchase

Although pulsed thermography has been demonstrated as a means of detecting subsurface defects in a wide range of materials, quantification of defect size and depth has only been possible using high performance IR cameras, often operating at high frame rates. Quantitative methods have also required that the operator identify an umblemished, defect-free region to serve as a basis for comparison to the rest of the sample. The expense and complexity imposed by these requirements have limited implementation of quantitative methods to relatively high end aerospace applications. We have developed a method for acquiring and analyzing pulsed thermographic data that requires no a priori knowledge of the sample and does not require subjective decision making by the operator. Size and depth measurements have been demonstrated on metal and composite materials, with computation times on the order of 5 seconds for a sequence of $300 320×240$ frames. The method can be applied to either digital or analog signals from any IR camera.