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In the field of optically excited thermography, flash lamps (impulse shaped planar heating) and halogen lamps (modulated planar heating) have become established for the specific regimes of impulse and lock-in thermography. Flying-spot laser thermography is implemented by means of a rasterized focused laser, e. g. for crack detection (continuous wave operation) and photothermal material characterization (high-frequency modulated). The availability of novel technologies, i. e. fast and high-resolution IR cameras, brilliant innovative light sources and high-performance data acquisition and processing technology will enable a paradigm shift from stand-alone photothermal and thermographic techniques to uniform quantitative measurement and testing technology that is faster and more precise. Similar to an LED array, but with irradiance two orders of magnitude higher, a new type of brilliant laser source, i. e. the VCSEL array (vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser), is now available. This novel optical energy source eliminates the strong limitation to the temporal dynamics of established light sources and at the same time is spectrally clearly separated from the detection wavelength. It combines the fast temporal behavior of a diode laser with the high optical irradiance and the wide illumination area of flash lamps. In addition, heating can also be carried out in a structured manner, because individual areas of the VCSEL array can be controlled independently of each other. This new degree of freedom enables the development of completely new thermographic NDT methods.
Using an infrared camera for radiometric imaging allows the contactless temperature measurement of multiple surface pixels simultaneously. From the measured surface data, a sub-surface structure, embedded inside a sample or tissue, can be reconstructed and imaged when heated by an excitation light pulse. The main drawback in radiometric imaging is the degradation of the spatial resolution with increasing depth, which results in blurred images for deeper lying structures. We circumvent this degradation with blind structured illumination, combined with a non-linear joint sparsity reconstruction algorithm. The ground-breaking concept of super-resolution can be transferred from optics to thermographic imaging.
Additively manufactured test specimens made of polyamide 12 (PA 12) by Laser Sintering (LS) as well as of acrylnitril-butadien-styrol (ABS) by Fused Layer Modeling (FLM), were tested with active thermography. For this, two different excitation methods (flash and impulse excitation) were used and compared, regarding the suitability for the detection of constructed and imprinted defects. To increase the quality of the thermograms, data processing methods like thermal signal reconstruction (TSR) and Fourier-Transformation were applied. Furthermore, the long-term stability of the probes towards environmental stress, like UV-radiation, heat, water contact and frost is being investigated in the presented project with artificial weathering tests.
Systematic errors in the evaluation of uncorrected data from thermographic lock-in measurements
(2018)
Lock-in thermography (LT) is based on the correct evaluation of phase differences between the temperature oscillations at different surface regions of the object under test during periodic heating. Since the usual heating procedures contain a DC component, the actual heating pattern achieved is not harmonic. This causes systematic deviations when phase differences are determined by means of harmonic analysis, e.g. with FFT analysis. The resulting errors depend clearly on the ratio between DC and AC amplitude, which is demonstrated at simulated and experimentally recorded temperature transients. Further experimental LT data obtained by different oscillating energy inputs showed a variety of possible shapes of transients with different DC components.
Monitoring of the absolute water content in porous materials based on embedded humidity sensors
(2018)
Moisture transport monitoring may indicate the onset of deterioration in porous building materials Prior to damage occurring. Most moisture measurement systems provide only qualitative values, require extensive calibration, or are destructive. Thus, non-destructive and calibration-free monitoring Systems are required. Our approach of moisture monitoring is to embed sensors that measure the relative humidity.
In our experiment, screed samples are monitored during the Hydration and evaporation process. Every test sample is equipped with 10 embedded sensors which measure the relative humidity across the sample thickness. Based on Hillerborg’s approach, the relative humidity is converted into the corresponding pore saturation. In our study, the free water is computed without knowledge of the Sorption isotherm. The free water in the pore system is predicted and validated. The predicted weight decrease corresponds conclusively to gravimetrically measured weights. The embedded sensors yield the absolute liquid water content and enable an experimental, non-destructive monitoring of liquid water in porous materials.
Accuracy of calibration-free (CF) methods in laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) depends on experimental conditions and instrumental parameters that must match a CF LIBS model. Here, the numerical study is performed to investigate effects of various factors, such as the optical density, plasma uniformity, line overlap, noise, spectral resolution, electron density and path length on the results of CF-LIBS analyses. The effects are examined one-by-one using synthetic spectra of steel slag samples that fully comply with the mathematical model of the method. Also, the algorithm includes several new features in comparison with previously proposed CF algorithms. In particular, it removes limits on the optical thickness of spectral lines that are used for the construction of the Saha-Boltzmann plot; it retrieves the absorption path length (Plasma diameter) directly from spectral lines; it uses the more realistic Voigt line profile function instead of the Lorentzian function; and it employs the pre-calculated and tabulated thin-to-thick line ratios instead of approximating functions for selfabsorption correction.
We investigated the possibility of minimizing tensile matrix residual stresses in age hardenable aluminum alloy metal matrix composites without detrimentally affect their mechanical properties (such as yield strength).
Specifically, we performed thermal treatments at different temperatures and times in an age-hardenable aluminum matrix composite 2014Al-15vol%Al2O3. Using X-ray synchrotron radiation diffraction and mechanical tests, we show that below a certain treatment temperature (250 °C) it is possible to identify an appropriate thermal treatment capable of relaxing residual stress in this composite while even increasing its yield strength, with respect to the as processed conditions.
Processing ultrasonic data by coda wave interferometry to monitor load tests of concrete beams
(2018)
Ultrasonic transmission measurements have been used for decades to monitor concrete elements, mostly on a laboratory scale. Recently, coda wave interferometry (CWI), a technique adapted from seismology, was introduced to civil engineering experiments. It can be used to reveal subtle changes in concrete laboratory samples and even large structural elements without having a transducer directly at the place where the change is taking place. Here, several load tests until failure on large posttensioned concrete beams have been monitored using networks of embedded transducers. To detect subtle effects at the beginning of the experiments and cope with severe changes due to cracking close to failure, the coda wave interferometry procedures had to be modified to an adapted step-wise approach. Using this methodology, we were able to monitor stress distribution and localize large cracks by a relatively simple technique. Implementation of this approach on selected real structures might help to make decisions in infrastructure asset management.
Post-tensioning systems provide safe and efficient construction solutions for long span bridges. Despite the improved grouting practices over the past decade, existing post-tensioning systems may have significant amount of grout defects, which could lead to corrosion of the strands. Condition assessment of post-tensioning systems is necessary to allow bridge owners to take timely, proactive actions to mitigate or prevent further Deterioration and unanticipated tendon failures. A detailed experimental study conducted to assess the performance of nondestructive evaluation techniques in detecting grout defects within internal tendons is presented herein.
Nondestructive evaluation techniques that include Ground Penetrating Radar, Impact Echo, Ultrasonic Tomography, and Ultrasonic Echo are evaluated in terms of detecting the location and severity of fabricated grout defects in a full-scale post-tensioned U-girder mock-up specimen. While Ground Penetrating Radar can identify the location and profile of the internal tendons, particularly metal ducts due to strong reflections, this method did not provide any information about the defect conditions within the tendon. Both Impact Echo and Ultrasonic Echo techniques are effective in identifying the Location of grout defects, but could not differentiate between water, void, or compromised grout conditions. The study clearly demonstrates the need for NDE techniques that are applicable to anchorage regions, and that are capable of estimating the severity and nature of grout defects in internal tendons.
Matrix phased array probes are becoming more prominently used in industrial applications. The main drawbacks, using probes incorporating a very large number of transducer elements, are needed for an appropriate cabling and an ultrasonic device offering many parallel channels. Matrix arrays designed for extended functionality feature at least 64 or more elements. Typical arrangements are square matrices, e.g., 8 by 8 or 11 by 11 or rectangular matrixes, e.g., 8 by 16 or 10 by 12 to fit a 128-channel phased array system. In some phased array systems, the number of simultaneous active elements is limited to a certain number, e.g., 32 or 64. Those setups do not allow running the probe with all elements active, which may cause a significant change in the directivity pattern of the resulting sound beam. When only a subset of elements can be used during a single acquisition, different strategies may be applied to collect enough data for rebuilding the missing information from the echo signal. Omission of certain elements may be one approach, overlay of subsequent shots with different active areas may be another one. This paper presents the influence of a decreased number of active elements on the sound field and their distribution on the array. Solutions using subsets with different element activity patterns on matrix arrays and their advantages and disadvantages concerning the sound field are evaluated using semi-analytical simulation tools. Sound field criteria are discussed, which are significant for non-destructive testing results and for the system setup.
A composite material is a combination of two or more materials with very different mechanical, thermal and electrical properties. The various forms of composite materials, due to their high material properties, are widely used as structural materials in the aviation, space, marine, automobile, and sports industries. However, some defects like voids, delamination, or inhomogeneous fiber distribution that form during the fabricating processes of composites can seriously affect the mechanical properties of the composite material. In this study, several imaging NDE techniques such as: thermography, high frequency eddy current, ultrasonic, x-ray radiography, x-ray laminography, and high resolution x-ray CT were conducted to characterize the microstructure of carbon fiber composites. Then, a 3D analysis was implemented by the destructive technique of serial sectioning for the same sample tested by the NDE methods. To better analyze the results of this work and extract a clear volume image for all features and defects contained in the composite material, an intensive comparison was conducted among hundreds of 3D-NDE and multi serial sections’ scan images showing the microstructure variation.
Among the photothermal methods, full-field thermal imaging is used to characterize materials, to determine thicknesses of layers, or to find inhomogeneities such as voids or cracks. The use of classical light sources such as flash lamps (impulse heating) or halogen lamps (modulated heating) led to a variety of nondestructive testing methods, in particular, lock-in and flash-thermography. In vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs), laser light is emitted perpendicularly to the surface with a symmetrical beam profile. Due to the vertical structure, they can be arranged in large arrays of many thousands of individual lasers, which allows power scaling into the kilowatt range. Recently, a high-power yet very compact version of such a VCSEL-array became available that offers both the fast timing behavior of a laser as well as the large illumination area of a lamp. Moreover, it allows a spatial and temporal control of the heating because individual parts of the array can be controlled arbitrarily in frequency, amplitude, and phase. In conjunction with a fast infrared camera, such structured heating opens up a field of novel thermal imaging and testing methods. As a first demonstration of this approach, we chose a testing problem very challenging to conventional thermal infrared testing: The detection of very thin subsurface defects perpendicularly oriented to the surface of metallic samples. First, we generate destructively interfering thermal wave fields, which are then affected by the presence of defects within their reach. It turned out that this technique allows highly sensitive detection of subsurface defects down to depths in excess of the usual thermographic rule of thumb, with no need for a reference or surface preparation.
A numerical framework is developed to study the hysteresis of elastic properties of porous ceramics as a function of temperature. The developed numerical model is capable of employing experimentally measured crystallographic orientation distribution and coefficient of thermal expansion values. For realistic modeling of the microstructure, Voronoi polygons are used to generate polycrystalline grains. Some grains are considered as voids, to simulate the material porosity. To model intercrystalline cracking, cohesive elements are inserted along grain boundaries. Crack healing (recovery of the initial properties) upon closure is taken into account with special cohesive elements implemented in the commercial code ABAQUS. The numerical model can be used to estimate fracture properties governing the cohesive behavior through inverse analysis procedure. The model is applied to a porous cordierite ceramic. The obtained fracture properties are further used to successfully simulate general non-linear macroscopic stress-strain curves of cordierite, thereby validating the model.
The influence of the support structure on residual stress and distortion in SLM Inconel 718 parts
(2018)
The effect of support structure and of removal from the base plate on the residual stress state in selective laser melted IN718 parts was studied by means of synchrotron X-ray diffraction. The residual stresses in subsurface region of two elongated prisms in as-built condition and after removal from the base plate were determined. One sample was directly built on a base plate and another one on a support structure. Also, the distortion on the top surface due to stress release was measured by contact profilometry. High tensile residual stress values were found, with pronounced stress gradient along the hatching direction. In the sample on support, stress redistribution took place after removal from the base plate, as opposed to simple stress relaxation for the sample without support. The sample on support structure showed larger distortion compared to sample without support. We conclude that the use of a support decreases stress values but stress-relieving heat treatments are still needed.
Magneto resistance sensors like GMR (giant magneto resistance) or TMR (tunnel magneto resistance) are widely used in industrial applications, examples are position measurement and read heads of hard disk drives. However, in case of non-destructive testing (NDT) applications these sensors, although their properties are outstanding like high spatial resolution, high field sensitivity, low cost and low energy consumption, never reached a technical transfer to an application beyond sci-entific scope.
This paper deals with benefits of GMR/TMR sensors in terms of high spatial resolution testing for different NDT applica-tions. The first example demonstrates the preeminent advantages of MR-elements compared with conventional coils used in eddy current testing (ET). The probe comprises one-wire excitation with an array of MR elements. This led to a better spatial resolution in terms of neighboring defects.
The second section concentrates on MFL-testing (magnetic flux leakage) with active field excitation during and before test-ing. The latter illustrated the capability of highly resolved crack detection of a crossed notch. This example is best suited to show the ability of tiny magnetic field sensors for magnetic material characterization of a sample surface. Another example is based on characterization of samples after tensile test. Here, no external field is applied. The magnetization is only changed due to external load and magnetostriction leading to a field signature which GMR sensors can resolve. This gives access to internal changes of the magnetization state of the sample under test.
The use of composite pressure vessels instead of conventional vessels made of steel or aluminum grew strongly over the last decade. The reason for this trend is the tremendous weight saving in case of composite vessels. However, the long-time behavior is not fully understood for filling and discharging cycles and creep strength and their influence on the CFRP coating (carbon fiber reinforced plastics) and the internal liner (steel, aluminum, or plastics). The CFRP ensures the pressure resistance while the inner liner is used as container for liquid or gas. To overcome the missing knowledge of ageing BAM started an internal project to investigate degradation of these material systems. Therefore, applicable testing methods like eddy current testing are needed. Normally, high-frequency eddy current testing (HF-ET, f > 10 MHz) is deployed for CFRP due to its low conductivity of the fiber, which is in the order of 0.01 MS/s, and the capacitive coupling between the fibers. Nevertheless, in some cases conventional ET can be applied. We show a concise summary of studies on the application of conventional ET of composite pressure vessels.
Fiber-reinforced concretes (FRCs) offer significant improvements in tensile strength and durability compared to most other concrete mixes.
However, for safe and efficient use of FRC in large structures, anisotropy of fiber orientation needs to be understood and properly controlled. In this project, both cored samples extracted from a FRC slab and FRC samples cast individually in molds were assessed using X-ray computed tomography (CT) and measurements of fiber orientation were extracted from the resulting CT images. These results showed that fibers within the slab were highly anisotropic in orientation while fibers in individually cast samples showed a much more heterogeneous distribution of orientations.
This indicates that fiber orientation is highly dependent on the casting process and suggests that FRC can only be safely and efficiently utilized if anisotropic fiber orientation is properly accounted for during design and optimized casting methods are used during construction.
We demonstrate (and are the first to do so) 63 km Brillouin Optical Frequency-Domain Analysis (BOFDA) for temperature and strain monitoring using a 100 km fiber loop. The use of BOFDA for long-range applications can be considered a novel approach, as previous investigations focused on the utilization of Brillouin Optical Time-Domain Reflectometry and Analysis (BOTDR and BOTDA, respectively). At 51.7 km, a 100 m hotspot (37 °C) was detected without using distributed Raman amplification or image processing.
Photon counting detectors (PCD) offer new possibilities for x-ray micro computed tomography (CT) in the field of non-destructive testing. For large and/or dense objects with high atomic numbers the problem of scattered radiation and beam hardening severely influences the image quality. This work shows that using an energy discriminating PCD based on CdTe allows to address these problems by intrinsically reducing both the influence of scattering and beam hardening.
Based on 2D-radiographic measurements it is shown that by energy thresholding the influence of scattered radiation can be reduced by up to in case of a PCD compared to a conventional energy-integrating detector (EID).
To demonstrate the capabilities of a PCD in reducing beam hardening, cupping artefacts are analyzed quantitatively. The PCD results show that the higher the energy threshold is set, the lower the cupping effect emerges. But since numerous beam hardening correction algorithms exist, the results of the PCD are compared to EID results corrected by common techniques. Nevertheless, the highest energy thresholds yield lower cupping artefacts than any of the applied correction algorithms.
As an example of a potential industrial CT application, a turbine blade is investigated by CT. The inner structure of the turbine blade allows for comparing the image quality between PCD and EID in terms of absolute contrast, as well as normalized signal-to-noise and contrast-to-noise ratio. Where the absolute contrast can be improved by raising the energy thresholds of the PCD, it is found that due to lower statistics the normalized contrast-to-noise-ratio could not be improved compared to the EID. These results might change to the contrary when discarding pre-filtering of the x-ray spectra and thus allowing more low-energy photons to reach the detectors.
Despite still being in the early phase in technological progress, PCDs already allow to improve CT image quality compared to conventional detectors in terms of scatter and beam hardening reduction.
We present an in situ triple coupling of synchrotron X-ray diffraction with Raman spectroscopy, and thermography to study milling reactions in real time. This combination of methods allows a correlation of the structural evolution with temperature information. The temperature information is crucial for understanding both the thermodynamics and reaction kinetics. The reaction mechanisms of three prototypical mechanochemical syntheses, a cocrystal formation, a C@C bond formation (Knoevenagel condensation), and the formation
of a manganese-phosphonate, were elucidated. Trends in the temperature development during milling are identified. The heat of reaction and latent heat of crystallization of the product contribute to the overall temperature increase. A decrease in temperature occurs via release of, for example, water as a byproduct.
Solid and liquid intermediates are detected. The influence of the mechanical impact could be separated from temperature effects caused by the reaction.
Solution doping of off-the-shelf plastic optical fibers (POFs) represents rather simple and cheap way for preparing custom cladding-doped POFs (CD-POFs) with short to medium lengths. CD-POFs are especially attractive for environmental sensing applications, but might be of interest for illumination task as well. In this work, the proposed doping technique is tested with three different commercial low-cost polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) POFs; Eska CK-40 and Eska GK-40 from Mitsubishi Rayon and Raytela PGU-FB1000 from Toray. The aim of the work is to aid the selection of the most suitable fiber yielding highest optical quality of prepared CD-POFs. Firstly, the optimal doping times are determined for the individual fiber types using short fiber samples. Secondly, longer 10 m CD-POFs are prepared from all tested fibersusing the optimized doping procedure. Finally, attenuation of pristine POFs and prepared CD-POFs is measured using optical time domain reflectometry in order to characterize the impacts of the doping on fiber optical properties. In addition, the importance of post-doping drying procedure for CD-POF optical performance is investigated as well. The results suggest that, although doping of all tested fibers is generally feasible, Eska CK-40 is the most suitable candidate with regard to the Doping efficiency and fiber post-doping performance.
We demonstrate narrow band spectral intensity switching in dual-core photonic crystal fibers made of highly nonlinear glass under femtosecond excitation. The fibers expressed dual-core asymmetry, thus the slow and fast fiber cores were unambiguously distinguished according to their dispersion profiles. The asymmetry effect on the dual-core Propagation in anomalous dispersion region was studied both experimentally and numerically. The experimental study was carried
out using femtosecond laser amplifier system providing tunable pulses in range of 1500 nm - 1800 nm. The obtained results unveiled, that it is possible to improve nonlinearly the coupling between the two waveguides by excitation of the fast fiber core. The results were obtained in regime of high-order soliton propagation and were verified numerically by the coupled generalized nonlinear Schrödinger equations model. The spectral analysis of the radiation transferred to the non-excited core revealed the role of effects such as third order dispersion, soliton compression and spectral dependence of the coupling efficiency. The simulation results provide reasonable agreement with the experimentally observed spectral evolutions in the both fiber cores. Under 1800 nm excitation, narrow band spectral intensity switching was registered with contrast of 23 dB at 10 mm fiber length by changing the excitation pulse energy in sub-nanojoule range.
Distributed vibration sensing in optical fibers opened entirely new opportunities and penetrated various sectors from security to seismic monitoring. Here, we demonstrate a most simple and robust approach for dynamic strain measurement using wavelength-scanning coherent optical time domain reflectometry (C-OTDR). Our method is based on laser current modulation and Rayleigh backscatter shift correlation. As opposed to common single-wavelength phase demodulation techniques, also the algebraic sign of the strain change is retrieved. This is crucial for the intended applications in structural health monitoring and modal analysis. A linear strain response down to 47.5 pε and strain noise of 100 pε/√Hz is demonstrated for repetition rates in the kHz range. A field application of a vibrating bridge is presented. Our approach provides a cost-effective high-resolution method for structural vibration analysis and geophysical applications.
The present work offers an explanation for the variation of the power-law stress exponent, n, with the stress r normalized to the shear modulus G in aluminum alloys. The approach is based on the assumption that the dislocation structure generated with deformation has a fractal nature. It fully explains the evolution of n with r/G even beyond the so-called power law breakdown region. Creep data from commercially pure Al99.8%, Al-3.85%Mg, and ingot AA6061 alloy tested at different temperatures and stresses are used to validate the proposed ideas. Finally, it is also shown that the fractal description of the dislocation structure agrees well with current knowledge.
Defect recognition in CFRP components using various NDT methods within a smart manufacturing process
(2018)
The manufacturing process of carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) components is gaining a more and more significant role when looking at the increasing amount of CFRPs used in industries today. The monitoring of the manufacturing process and hence the reliability of the manufactured products, is one of the major challenges we need to face in the near future. Common defects which arise during manufacturing process are e.g. porosity and voids which may lead to delaminations during operation and under load. To find irregularities and classify them as possible defects in an early stage of the manufacturing process is of high importance for the safety and reliability of the finished products, as well as of significant impact from an economical point of view. In this study we compare various NDT methods which were applied to similar CFRP laminate samples in order to detect and characterize regions of defective volume. Besides ultrasound, thermography and eddy current, different X-ray methods like radiography, laminography and computed tomography are used to investigate the samples. These methods are compared with the intention to evaluate their capability to reliably detect and characterize defective volume. Beyond the detection and evaluation of defects, we also investigate possibilities to combine various NDT methods within a smart manufacturing process in which the decision which method shall be applied is inherent within the process. Is it possible to design an in-line or at-line testing process which can recognize defects reliably and reduce testing time and costs? This study aims to show up opportunities of designing a smart NDT process synchronized to the production based on the concepts of smart production (Industry 4.0). A set of defective CFRP laminate samples and different NDT methods were used to demonstrate how effective defects are recognized and how communication between interconnected NDT sensors and the manufacturing process could be organized.
Austenitic stainless steel welds as well as dissimilar metal welds with nickel alloy filler material, used in safety relevant parts of nuclear power plants, still challenge the ultrasonic inspection. The weld material forms large oriented grains which lead on the one hand to high sound scattering and on the other hand – to inhomogeneity and to the acoustic anisotropy of the weld structure. The ultrasonic wave fronts propagate not linearly, as in ferritic weld joints, but along the curves, which depend on the specific grain structure of the weld. Due the influence of these phenomena, it is difficult to analyze the inspection results and to classify the ultrasonic indications, which could be both from the weld geometry and from the material defects. A correct flaw sizing is not possible.
In an ongoing research project, different techniques to improve the reliability of ultrasonic testing at these kinds of welds are investigated. In a first step (in the previous research project) two ultrasonic inspection techniques were developed and validated on plane test specimens with artificial and realistic flaws. In the ongoing project, these techniques are applied to circumferential pipe welds with longitudinal and transverse flaws.
The technique developed at the Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM) in Germany uses a combination of ray tracing and synthetic aperture focusing technique (SAFT). To investigate the unknown grain structure, the velocity distribution of weld-transmitting ultrasound waves is measured and used to model the weld by ray tracing.
The second technique, developed at the Fraunhofer Institute for Nondestructive Testing (IZFP) in Germany, uses Sampling Phased Array (Full Matrix Capture) combined with the reverse phase matching (RPM) and the gradient elastic constant descent algorithm (GECDM). This inspection method is able to estimate the elastic constants of the columnar grains in the weld and offers an improvement of the reliability of ultrasonic testing through the correction of the sound field distortion. The unknown inhomogeneity and anisotropy are investigated using a reference indication and the special optimization algorithm.
Both reconstruction techniques give quantitative inspection results and allow the defect sizing. They have been compared to conventional ultrasonic testing with techniques, which are state of the art for components in nuclear power plants. The improvement will be quantified by the comparison of the probability of detection (POD) of each technique.
For assuring the safety and reliability of components and constructions in energy applications made of fiber-reinforced polymers (e.g., blades of wind turbines and tidal power plants, engine chassis, flexible oil and gas pipelines) innovative non-destructive testing methods are required. Within the European Project VITCEA complementary methods (shearography, microwave, ultrasonics and thermography) have been further developed and validated. Together with partners from the industry, test specimens have been constructed and selected on-site containing different artificial and natural defect artefacts. As base materials, carbon and glass fibers in different orientations and layering embedded in different matrix materials (epoxy, polyamide) have been considered. In this contribution, the validation of flash and lock-in thermography to these testing problems is presented. Data analysis is based on thermal contrasts and phase evaluation techniques. Experimental data are compared to analytical and numerical models. Among others, the influence of two different types of artificial defects (flat bottom holes and delaminations) with varying diameters and depths and of two different materials (CFRP and GFRP) with unidirectional and quasi-isotropic fiber alignment is discussed.
We designed micro-hollow cathode discharge prototypes under atmospheric pressure and investi-gated their acoustic characteristics. For the acoustic model of the discharge, we correlated the self-organisation effect of the current density distribution with the ideal model of an acoustic membrane. For validation of the obtained model, sound particle velocity spectroscopy was used to detect and analyse the acoustic emission experimentally. The results have shown a behaviour similar to the ideal acoustic membrane. Therefore, the acoustic excitation is decomposable into its eigenfrequencies and predictable. The model was unified utilising the gas exhaust velocity caused by the electrohydrodynamic force. The results may allow a contactless prediction of the current density distribution by measuring the acoustic emission or using the micro-discharge as a tunable acoustic source for specific applications as well.
In order to provide further evidence of damage mechanisms predicted by the recent solid-state transformation creep (SSTC) model, direct observation of damage accumulation during creep of Al–3.85Mg was made using synchrotron X-ray refraction. X-ray refraction techniques detect the internal specific surface (i.e. surface per unit volume) on a length scale comparable to the specimen size, but with microscopic sensitivity. A significant rise in the internal specific surface with increasing creep time was observed, providing evidence for the creation of a fine grain substructure, as predicted by the SSTC model. This substructure was also observed by scanning electron microscopy
Composite pressure vessels are important components in the storage of gases under high pressure. Among others, a common type of pressure vessel is made of a metal liner overwrapped with a fibre-reinforced plastic material. Conventional hydrostatic tests, used to assess the integrity of pressure vessels, may overstress the material and thus reduce the remaining lifetime of the tested component. Therefore, a truly non-destructive structural health monitoring (SHM) system would not only ensure a safer usage and extended lifetime, but also remove the necessity for periodic inspection and the testing of pressure vessels. The authors propose the use of guided ultrasonic waves, which have the potential to detect the main damage types, such as cracking in the metal liner, fibre breaks and composite matrix delamination. For the design of such an SHM system, multimodal ultrasonic wave propagation and defect-mode interaction must be fully understood. In this paper, simulation results obtained by means of finite element modelling (FEM) are presented. Based on the findings, suggestions are made regarding appropriate wave modes and their interaction with different flaw types, as well as the necessary excitation and suitable sensor configurations. Finally, a first approach for a reliable SHM system for composite pressure vessels is suggested.
In civil engineering concrete is the most used building material for making infrastructures like bridges and parking decks worldwide. It is as a porous and multiphase material made of aggregates with a defined grain size distribution, cement and water as well as different additives and admixtures depending on the application. Different grain sizes are important to ensure the needed density and compressive strength.
The resulting porous cement matrix contains a mixture of flour grains (aggregates with a grain size below 125 lm) and cement particles (particle size≈50lm). Harmful species like chlorides may penetrate together with water through the capillary pore space and may trigger different damage processes. The damage assessment of concrete structures in Germany is estimated due to the quantification of harmful elements regarding to the cement content only. In the evaluation of concrete using LIBS a two-dimensional scanning is necessary to consider the heterogeneity caused by the aggregates. Therefore, a LIBS system operating with a low energy NdCr:YAG laser, a pulse energy of 3 mJ, a wavelength of 1064 nm, a pulse width of 1.5 ns and a Repetition rate of 100 Hz has been used. Different Czerny-Turner spectrometers with CCD detectors in the UV and NIR range have been used for the detection. Large aggregates (macro-heterogeneity) can be excluded from the evaluation, whereas small aggregates in the range of the laser spot size (flour grains) cannot be spatially resolved. In this work the micro heterogeneity caused by flour grains and their impact on the quantification with LIBS will be discussed. To analyze the effect of changing grain sizes and ratios, the ablation behavior has been determined and compared. Samples with defined grain sizes were made and analyzed using LIBS.
The grain size distributions were analyzed with laser diffraction (LDA).
BACKGROUND CONTEXT: Targeted delivery of osteoinductive bone morphogenetic Proteins (eg, GDF5) in bioresorbable calcium phosphate cement (CPC), potentially suitable for vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty of osteoporotic vertebral fractures, may be required to counteract augmented local bone catabolism and to support complete bone regeneration. The biologically optimized GDF5 Mutant BB-1 may represent an attractive drug candidate for this purpose.
PURPOSE: The aim of the current study was to test an injectable, poly (l-lactide-co-glycolide) acid (PLGA) fiber-reinforced, brushite-forming CPC containing low-dose BB-1 in a sheep lumbar osteopenia model.
STUDY DESIGN/ SETTING: This is a prospective experimental animal study.
METHODS: Bone defects (diameter 5 mm) were generated in aged, osteopenic female sheep and were filled with fiber-reinforced CPC alone (L4; CPC+fibers) or with CPC containing different dosages.
During Rutherford cable production the wires are plastically deformed and their initially round shape is distorted. Using X-ray absorption tomography we have determined the 3D shape of an unreacted Nb3Sn 11 T dipole Rutherford cable, and of a reacted and impregnated Nb3Sn cable double stack. State-of-theart image processing was applied to correct for tomographic artefacts caused by the large cable aspect ratio, for the segmentation of the individual wires and subelement bundles inside the wires, and for the calculation of the wire cross sectional area and shape variations. The 11 T dipole cable cross section oscillates by 2% with a frequency of 1.24 mm (1/80 of the transposition pitch length of the 40 wire cable). A comparatively stronger cross sectional area variation is observed in the individual wires at the thin edge of the keystoned cable where the wire aspect ratio is largest.
During the last decades, X-ray (micro-)computed tomography has gained increasing attention for the description of porous skeletal and shell structures of various organism groups. However, their quantitative analysis is often hampered by the difficulty to discriminate cavities and pores within the object from the surrounding region. Herein, we test the ambient occlusion (AO) algorithm and newly implemented optimisations for the segmentation of cavities (implemented in the software Amira). The segmentation accuracy is evaluated as a function of (i) changes in the ray length input variable, and (ii) the usage of AO (scalar) field and other AO-derived (scalar) fields. The results clearly indicate that the AO field itself outperforms all other AO-derived fields in terms of segmentation accuracy and robustness against variations in the ray length input variable. The newly implemented optimisations improved the AO field-based segmentation only slightly, while the segmentations based on the AOderived fields improved considerably.
Additionally, we evaluated the potential of the AO field and AO-derived fields for the separation and classification of cavities as well as skeletal structures by comparing them with commonly used distance-map-based segmentations. For this, we tested the zooid separation within a bryozoan colony, the stereom classification of an ophiuroid tooth, the separation of bioerosion traces within a marble block and the calice (central cavity)-pore separation within a dendrophyllid coral. The obtained results clearly indicate that the ideal input field depends on the three-dimensional morphology of the object of interest. The segmentations based on the AO-derived fields often provided cavity separations and skeleton classifications that were superior to or impossible to obtain with commonly used distance-map-based segmentations. The combined usage of various AO-derived fields by supervised or unsupervised segmentation algorithms might provide a promising target for future research to further improve the results for this kind of high-end data segmentation and classification. Furthermore, the application of the developed segmentation algorithm is not restricted to X-ray (micro-)computed tomographic data but may potentially be useful for the segmentation of 3D volume data from other sources.
This paper reviews state-of-the-art in nondestructive testing (NDT) and semidestructive testing (SDT) methods applicable for imaging the condition of structural timber. Both NDT and SDT imaging reveal defects, damages, and decay, while the extent of wood decay can also be quantified. Combined with an appropriate data interpretation concerning the internal defects, the mechanical properties of the material can also be assessed. The possibilities and limitations of the most relevant individual NDT and SDT methods, also in combination with each other, are outlined and compared. To facilitate comparison, many observations are reported based on the same test specimen.
We demonstrate ultrafast soliton-based nonlinear balancing of dual-core asymmetry in highly nonlinear photonic crystal fiber at sub-nanojoule pulse energy level. The effect of fiber asymmetry was studied experimentally by selective excitation and monitoring of individual fiber cores at different wavelengths between 1500 nm and 1800 nm. Higher energy transfer rate to non-excited core was observed in the case of fast core excitation due to nonlinear asymmetry balancing of temporal solitons, which was confirmed by the dedicated numerical simulations based on the coupled generalized nonlinear Schrödinger equations. Moreover, the simulation results correspond qualitatively with the experimentally acquired dependences of the output dual-core extinction Ratio on excitation energy and wavelength. In the case of 1800 nm fast core excitation, narrow band spectral intensity switching between the output channels was registered with contrast of 23 dB. The switching was achieved by the change of the excitation pulse energy in sub-nanojoule region. The performed detailed analysis of the nonlinear balancing of dual-core asymmetry in solitonic propagation regime opens new perspectives for the development of ultrafast nonlinear all-optical switching devices.
The in situ analysis of the damage evolution in a metal Matrix composite (MMC) using synchrotron X-ray refraction radiography (SXRR) is presented. The investigated material is an Al alloy (6061)/10 vol% Al2O3 MMC after T6 heat treatment.
In an interrupted tensile test the gauge section of dog bone-shaped specimens is imaged in different states of tensile loading. On the basis of the SXRR images, the relative change of the specific surface (proportional to the amount of damage) in the course of tensile loading was analyzed. It could be shown that the damage can be detected by SXRR already at a stage of tensile loading, in which no Observation of damage is possible with radiographic absorption-based imaging methods.
Moreover, the quantitative analysis of the SXRR images reveals that the amount of damage increases homogeneously by an average of 25% with respect to the Initial state. To corroborate the experimental findings, the damage distribution was imaged in 3D after the final tensile loading by synchrotron X-ray refraction computed tomography (SXRCT) and absorption-based synchrotron X-ray computed tomography (SXCT). It could be evidenced that defects and damages cause pronounced indications in the SXRCT images.
Solution doping of commercial polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) polymer optical fibers (POFs) is presented as a novel approach for preparation of custom cladding-doped POFs (CD-POFs). The presented method is based on a solution-mediated diffusion of dopant molecules into the fiber cladding upon soaking of POFs in a methanol-dopant solution. The method was tested on three different commercial POFs using Rhodamine B as a fluorescent dopant. The dynamics of the diffusion process was studied in order to optimize the doping procedure in terms of selection of the most suitable POF, doping time and conditions. Using the optimized procedure, longer segment of fluorescent CD-POF was prepared and its performance was characterized. Fiber’s potential for sensing and illumination applications was demonstrated and discussed. The proposed method represents a simple and cheap way for fabrication of custom, short to medium length CD-POFs with various dopants.
Pulse thermography (PT) has proven to be a valuable non-destructive testing method to identify and quantify defects in fiber-reinforced polymers. To perform a quantitative defect characterization, the heat diffusion within the material as well as the material parameters must be known. The heterogeneous material structure of glass fiber-reinforced polymers (GFRP) as well as the semitransparency of the material for optical excitation sources of PT is still challenging. For homogeneous semitransparent materials, 1D analytical models describing the temperature distribution are available.
Here, we present an analytical approach to model PT for laterally inhomogeneous semitransparent materials.We show the validity of the model by considering different configurations of the optical heating source, the IR camera, and the differently coated GFRP sample. The model considers the lateral inhomogeneity of the semitransparency by an additional absorption coefficient. It includes additional effects such as thermal losses at the samples surfaces, multilayer systems with thermal contact resistance, and a finite duration of the heating pulse. By using a sufficient complexity of the analytical model, similar values of the material parameters were found for all six investigated configurations by numerical fitting.
High-Amplitude Surge of a Pitching Airfoil: Complementary Wind- and Water-Tunnel Measurements
(2018)
RECENT interest in gust response, rotorcraft forward flight and wind energy, among other applications, has focused on streamwise oscillations of nominally two-dimensional airfoils in attached and separated flows. The airfoil may be simultaneously held at constant incidence or execute some maneuver, such as pitch.
The relative freestream is spatially uniform but temporally unsteady, and this can be accomplished in a ground-test facility in two ways. The first method is to vary the output of the prime mover, such as the rotational speed of the impeller or the blower driving a wind tunnel, or (alternatively) to vary the pressure drop in the tunnel, thereby varying the flow speed in the test section, despite nominally constant primemover revolutions per minute. The second method is used to keep the tunnel’s operating speed constant, as well as to move the test article in the streamwise direction, fore and aft (for example, via an electric linear motor), such that the relative freestream speed felt by the test article varies according to some waveform. Typically, the latter approach is chosen in water tunnels, where there is too much tunnel-circuit inertia to vary the flow speed directly but where the usually low tunnel test section flow speeds enable large excursions in the relative freestream by oscillation of the test article. In fact, outright reverse flow is possible by moving the test article in the laboratory frame at a higher speed than the water-tunnel flow speed. In either case, a sinusoidal relative-speed waveform is the most intuitively realizable, and this can be combined with similar oscillations in the airfoil incidence angle or other kinematics. Although the two methods of realizing streamwise oscillations are mechanically distinct, experimental comparisons between an oscillating test article in a water tunnel and a stationary test article in a wind tunnel with a louvermechanismhave demonstrated agreement in themeasured lift and drag histories. Such experimentswere performed by Granlund et al. for a 10% freestream amplitude oscillation and fixed airfoil incidence, comparing a free-surface water tunnel and a closed-circuit wind tunnel. After buoyancy was subtracted from the wind-tunnel data (resulting from the louver pressure drop) and the model inertia subtracted from the water-tunnel data (resulting from acceleration of the test article), the remaining lift and drag histories matched well at the low freestream oscillation amplitude regime. The work of Granlund et al. was later extended to high-advance-ratio streamwise oscillations of 50% amplitude by Greenblatt et al., where the aerodynamic histories of the water-tunnel and wind-tunnel facilities were compared in combined pitch and freestreamoscillations (governed by relative pitch phase), pure pitch oscillations, and purely freestream oscillations. Agreement between the two facilities’ data for fixed-incidence streamwise oscillations was reasonably good, and in fact, better than agreement in just the static lift and drag, evidently owing to differences in blockage and model-support systems. Additionally, Greenblatt et al. determined there was no strong coupling between simultaneous freestream oscillations and pitch oscillations on resultant lift and moment coefficients.
For the first time, X-ray refraction techniques are proven for the identification of void formation in Ti-6Al-4V parts produced by selective laser melting. The topology and volume fraction of pores are measured in samples produced with different laser energy density. Unique X-ray refraction methods identify different kinds of defects, characteristic to the regions below and above the Optimum laser energy density, namely unprocessed powder (unmolten powder particles, balling effect, and Fusion defects) from empty keyhole pores. Furthermore, it is possible to detect small inhomogeneities (voids or cracks) with sizes below the spatial resolution of optical microscopy and X-ray computed tomography.
In order to investigate their microcracking behaviour, the microstructures of several β-eucryptite ceramics, obtained from glass precursor and cerammed to yield different grain sizes and microcrack densities, were characterized by laboratory and synchrotron x-ray refraction and tomography. Results were compared with those obtained from scanning electron microscopy (SEM). In SEM images, the characterized materials appeared fully dense but computed tomography showed the presence of pore clusters. Uniaxial tensile testing was performed on specimens while strain maps were recorded and analyzed by Digital Image Correlation (DIC). X-ray refraction techniques were applied on specimens before and after tensile testing to measure the amount of the internal specific surface (i.e., area per unit volume). X-ray refraction revealed that (a) the small grain size (SGS) material contained a large specific surface, originating from the grain boundaries and the interfaces of TiO2 precipitates; (b) the medium (MGS) and large grain size (LGS) materials possessed higher amounts of specific surface compared to SGS material due to microcracks, which decreased after tensile loading; (c) the precursor glass had negligible internal surface. The unexpected decrease in the internal surface of MGS and LGS after tensile testing is explained by the presence of compressive regions in the DIC strain maps and further by theoretical arguments. It is suggested that while some microcracks merge via propagation, more close mechanically, thereby explaining the observed X-ray refraction results. The mechanisms proposed would allow the development of a strain hardening route in ceramics.
This paper focuses on the experimental evaluation of one of the key microstructural Parameters of a short-fiber reinforced composite – the orientation distribution of fibers. It is shown that computed tomography (CT) produces results suitable for reconstruction of the orientation distribution function. This function is used for calculation of the effective elastic properties of polymer-fiber reinforced concrete. Explicit formulas are derived for overall elastic moduli accounting for orientation distribution in the frameworks of the noninteraction approximation, the Mori–Tanaka–Benveniste scheme, and the Maxwell scheme.
The approach illustrated can be applied to any kind of composite material.