Open Access

The diffuse nature of thermal waves is a fun-damental limitation in thermographic nonde-structive testing. In our studies we investigated different approaches by shaping the thermal wave fields which result from heating. We have used high-power laser sources to heat metallic samples. Using these spatial and temporal shaping techniques leads to a higher detection sensitivity in our measurements with the infra-red camera. In this contribution we show our implementation of shaping laser-induced diffuse thermal wave fields and the effect on the defect reconstruction quality.

Active Thermography is a well-established non-destructive testing method and used to detect cracks, voids or material inhomogeneities. It is based on applying thermal energy to a samples’ surface whereas inner defects alter the nonstationary heat flow. Conventional excitation of a sample is hereby done spatially, either planar (e.g. using a lamp) or local (e.g. using a focused laser) and temporally, either pulsed or periodical. In this work we combine a high power laser with a Digital Micromirror Device (DMD) allowing us to merge all degrees of freedom to a spatially and temporally controlled heat source. This enables us to exploit the possibilities of coherent thermal wave shaping. Exciting periodically while controlling at the same time phase and amplitude of the illumination source induces – via Absorption at the sample’s surface - a defined thermal wave propagation through a sample. That means thermal waves can be controlled almost like acoustical or optical waves. However, in contrast to optical or acoustical waves, thermal waves are highly damped due to the diffusive character of the thermal heat flow and therefore limited in penetration depth in relation to the achievable resolution. Nevertheless, the coherence length of thermal waves can be chosen in the mmrange for modulation frequencies below 10 Hz which is perfectly met by DMD technology. This approach gives us the opportunity to transfer known technologies from wave shaping techniques to thermography methods. We will present experiments on spatial and temporal wave shaping, demonstrating interference based crack detection.

For the last 20 years active thermography has developed into a standard method in non-destructive material testing. It has become possible to detect defects such as cracks, voids, or even material inhomogeneities. Until now, it is still difficult to quantify subsurface or hidden defects in size due to the diffusive nature of heat flow within a solid. Facing this issue, lockin thermography and other photothermal techniques have been established. They are based on exciting a sample periodically (e.g. with a halogen lamp), causing a controlled periodical heat flow and thereby representing strongly damped thermal waves. These techniques make use of interference and reflection of thermal waves which allow enhancing depth resolution. So far, only the temporal component of the light source was modified to achieve a defined vertical heat flow – In contrast, we propose a novel technique in which we are able to control both: time and space. This technique enables us to exploit the possibilities of coherent thermal wave shaping. We achieve that by combining a spatial light modulator (SLM) with a high power laser. This approach allows us to launch a set of individually controlled and fully coherent high energy thermal waves into the sample volume. That means, we intentionally use wave propagation throughout the sample’s material in both - vertical and lateral direction. As one possible application, we use a thermal waves’ interference effect of two phase shifted wave patterns to detect the position of hidden defects. The wave patterns are positioned with a certain distance and a 180° phase shift to each other creating an amplitude depletion zone right in the middle of the two patterns. When a defect is brought unsymmetrically into the depletion zone, the lateral heat flow is disturbed. If the sample is now moved through the depletion zone, a defect can be easily characterized. Exciting periodically while controlling simultaneously phase and amplitude enables us to have a defined thermal wave propagation throughout the sample which means thermal waves can be controlled almost like acoustical or optical waves. This offers the opportunity to transfer known technologies from wave shaping techniques to thermography methods.

Active thermography has been developed into a well-established non-destructive testing method and is used to detect cracks, voids, or material properties. The spatial-temporal structure of the external heating: spatially: planar (e.g., halogen lamp) or local (e.g., focused laser), and temporally: pulsed (e.g., flash lamp) or periodical (e.g., halogen lamp), has led to different testing modalities, as for instance flash and lock-in thermography. In this work, we combine a high-power laser with a spatial light modulator (SLM) allowing us to merge all degrees of freedom into a spatially and temporally controlled heat source. This approach allows us to launch a set of individually controlled and fully coherent high-energy thermal waves into the sample volume. As one possible application, we demonstrate the interference of two phase shifted thermal wave patterns in order to detect the position and depth of hidden defects, which is still a challenging task in thermographic and photothermal techniques. The patterns are positioned with a certain distance and a phase shift of pi to each other, creating an amplitude depletion zone that is centered between them. Now, when a defect is brought into the depletion zone, the destructive interference is disturbed and the defect can be recognized. This approach means that we intentionally exploit the vertical and lateral propagation directions of the thermal waves. In a more general view, controlling simultaneously control of phase and amplitude of a set of thermal waves enables us to have a defined propagation of the thermal wave field within the sample, which means that thermal waves can be controlled almost like acoustical or optical waves. However, in contrast to optical or acoustical waves, thermal waves are highly damped due to the diffusive character of the thermal heat flow and therefore limited in penetration depth in relation to the achievable spatial resolution. Nevertheless, the coherence length of thermal waves can be chosen in the mm-range for modulation frequencies below 10 Hz which is perfectly met by present SLM technology. Eventually, this offers the opportunity to transfer known technologies from wave shaping techniques to thermography methods and to exploit the possibilities of coherent thermal wave shaping.