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Eingeladener Vortrag
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In diesem Beitrag werden die Möglichkeiten der Ortung von Fehlstellen in Cu Lötverbindungen unterhalb verschiedener Cu Blechdicken mit aktiver Thermografie demonstriert. Dabei wurden die Anregung mit Blitzlicht und die periodische Anregung mit der Lock-In Technik miteinander verglichen. Die Vor- und Nachteile der Anwendung unterschiedlicher IR-Kamerasysteme, einer gekühlten InSb-Quantendetektor IR-Kamera und einer Mikrobolometer IR-Kamera, werden dargestellt. Als objektives Kriterium wurde das SNR für unterschiedliche Fehlstellengrößen herangezogen.
Impulse and lock-in thermography have been applied to detect delaminations of prototype solder joints, similar to those to be produced between Cu shunts and Cu busbar stabilisers at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN. Two infrared cameras with different detector materials and with different spectral ranges and two excitation techniques have been tested and compared for their ability to detect delaminations behind 2 and 3 mm thick Cu shunts. We have analyzed the signal to noise ratio (SNR) for each detected defect and are able to detect defects down to a nominal edge length of 4 mm behind 2 mm thick Cu shunts by using fast impulse thermography and a camera with a microbolometer array. For the 3 mm thick Cu shunt, on the other hand, the nominal 4 mm defect is only visible in the lock-in thermography phase images and the highest SNR has been achieved with a cooled InSb-based camera. In addition, numerical simulations show the influence of the minimum detectable defect size on the shunt thickness and that the developed on-site testing technique is sufficient to find all defects that are detectable theoretically.
Für die optische Erwärmung von Prüfteiloberflächen sind Blitz- und Halogenlampen Stand der Technik. Der Vorteil dieser Wärmequellen liegt in ihren relativ geringen Anschaffungskosten bei gleichzeitig hohen Leistungsdichten am Prüfobjekt. Nachteilig ist bei den Halogenlampen die Limitierung der möglichen Modulationsffequenz auf ca. 1 Hz für die Anwendung dieser Quelle in der Lockin-Thermografie. Blitzlampen bieten für gewöhnlich nur eine feste Blitzdauer bei einer geringen Taktrate. Beide Anregungsquellen müssen in Reflexionsanordnung mit Filtern betrieben werden um die entstehende thermische Eigenstrahlung als Störquelle zu eliminieren. Wir stellen Untersuchungen an Hochleistungs-LEDs für den Einsatz in der aktiven Thermografie vor. Diese Lichtquellen werden durch die rasante Entwicklung der möglichen Leistungsdichten nun auch für die thermografische ZfP interessant. Sie zeigen ähnlich dem Laser eine schmale und auf den Werkstoff abstimmbare spektrale Verteilung der Strahlungsleistung bei moderaten Kosten. Die zugrunde liegende Elektrolumineszenz generiert kaum Wärmestrahlung und ermöglicht dadurch die Prüfung während des Erwärmungsvorganges ohne größeren Aufwand. Modulationsfrequenzen über 100 Hz mit thermischen Eindringtiefen < 1 mm sind möglich. Dadurch qualifizieren sich die LEDs zur Anwendung in der Lockin-Thermografie von Metallen und zur oberflächennahen Prüfung von Schichtsystemen. Durch die fast verzögerungsffeie Reaktion der LED auf das steuernde Signal sind nahezu beliebige zeitliche Anregungsformen möglich. Mit solch flexiblen Anregungsformen ließen sich bereits bei den photothermischen Verfahren erfolgreich höhere Tiefenreichweiten und -auflösungen gegenüber den klassischen Methoden der monofrequenten Lockin - und energiereichen Kurzimpuls-Anregung erzielen. Untersuchungen dieser Möglichkeiten im praktischen Einsatz der HochleistungsLEDs werden vorgestellt und mit herkömmlichen Lichtquellen verglichen.
Impact damages and delaminations in fibre-reinforced composites (FRC) might not be visible at the surface, but could have an influence on the resistance and on the long-term behaviour of the component. Therefore, and especially for safety relevant structures, non-destructive methods are required for the assessment of such damages.
Active thermography methods are suitable to characterize damages after loading using different kind of excitation techniques and various configurations of infrared (IR) camera and heating sources. Here, flash lamps, impulse excitation with infrared radiator and lock-in technique with halogen lamps or widened laser beams are suited. In addition, non-optical sources like sonotrodes (requiring direct contact to the structure) or induction generators (only suited for carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) structures) could be applied as well. For the investigation of the evolution of the damage during the impact, passive thermography can be applied in-situ. Elastic and plastic deformations alter the temperature of the structure and thus the temperature on the surface.
In this contribution, at first the general principles of quantitative defect characterisation in FRC using active thermography with flash, impulse and lock-in excitation are described. Optical and thermal properties of the FRC material and its anisotropy are considered. Results of phase differences obtained at flat bottom holes with flash and lock-in thermography are compared for qualifying both methods for quantitative defect characterization. Secondly, the damage evolution of CFRP and GFRP structures under impact load and static tensile loading is described. The spatial and temporal evolution of the surface temperature enables us to distinguish matrix cracks or fibre-matrix separation from delaminations between the layers. Afterwards, all results for loading defects, obtained by passive and active thermography, are compared with each other. Fig. 1 and 2 show the difference of passive and flash thermography obtained at impact and tensile loaded CFRP plates, respectively. As one purpose of these investigations is the development of standards within national (DIN) and European (CEN) standardisation bodies, new draft and final standards are presented and further needs are discussed at the end of the presentation.
We report on recent developments in the detection of surface breaking cracks using
flying laser spot thermography. Application of an infrared camera for mapping the
thermal radiation after excitation with a diode laser equipped with an optical scanner
allows us to examine a surface containing cracks in an entirely non-destructive,
contactless and fast way, without even moving the camera. We developed an efficient
and robust algorithm that can be applied directly to the recorded thermal sequences,
and that derives a single image containing all crack signatures. For this crack detection
technique, no specific synchronisation between laser and camera is required. Hence,
our approach is suitable for an upgrade of existing thermographic systems. The
feasibility of the proposed procedure is proven by testing an artificial test sample and a
piece of rail that comprises roll contact fatigue cracks and by comparing the results
with magnetic particle testing.
Im Projekt wurden systematische Untersuchungen zur thermografischen Erkennung von Oberflächenrissen mit Rissbreiten von ca. 0,1 bis 200 µm anhand von standardisierten bzw. selbst erstellten metallischen Referenzprobekörpern durchgeführt. Zur lokalen Anregung wurde ein Hochleistungs-Diodenlasersystem verwendet. Alle für die erfolgreiche Prüfung wesentlichen Parameter des Prüfsystems wurden systematisch untersucht und bewertet. Hieraus wurden Vorschläge, Empfehlungen und Faustformeln für die Wahl der Prüfparameter, Referenzprüfkörper, geeignete Gerätekomponenten und Auswertungsalgorithmen sowie Hinweise zur Prüfungsdurchführung abgeleitet. Zur Absicherung der Aussagen und zum Anschluss des neuen Prüfverfahrens an den Stand der Technik wurden Referenzprüfungen und -messungen mit etablierten Verfahren durchgeführt. Zudem wurde die Grenze der Nachweisempfindlichkeit des Verfahrens demonstriert.
In dieser Arbeit wird ein kameragestütztes Verfahren zur Flying-
Spot-Thermografie vorgestellt. Die Anregung wird über einen Diodenlaser mit einem optischen Scanner realisiert. Bei der Auswertung kommt ein effizienter und robuster Algorithmus zum Einsatz, der direkt auf die mit der Kamera aufgenommene Thermografiesequenz angewendet werden kann, ohne auf eine
Synchronisation zwischen Kamera und Lasersystem angewiesen zu sein. Daher eignet sich diese Herangehensweise besonders zur Nachrüstung bestehender Thermografiesysteme.
Die prinzipielle Eignung dieser Methode wird anhand einer Messung an einem Schienenstück mit Rollkontaktermüdungsrissen gezeigt. Als Referenzverfahren werden die Magnetpulverprüfung und eine auf GMR (Giant Magnetoresistance)- Sensoren basierende Streufeldmessung herangezogen. Mit dem thermografischen Verfahren konnten sämtliche enthaltenen Fehler erkannt werden. Dabei wurden Risse im mm-Abstand getrennt nachgewiesen, was etwa der geometrischen Auflösung der eingesetzten Kamera entspricht.
Die aktive Thermografie wird in der Industrie zunehmend in verschiedenen Bereichen zur Qualitätssicherung, Zustandsdiagnose und Zustandsüberwachung eingesetzt. Bestehende Normen zur Thermografie beschreiben die Grundlagen, Geräte und Begriffe. In diesem Beitrag wird über ein Projekt berichtet, dessen Ziel die Erarbeitung einer Prüfnorm zur Blitzthermografie ist. Diese sollte neben der Auswahl geeigneter Gerätekomponenten, der Auswertungsverfahren und der Vorgehensweise bei der Prüfung auch die Beschreibung geeigneter Referenzprobekörper enthalten, die eine Bewertung der Messapparatur und eine Qualitätssicherung der Prüfung ermöglichen.
Catastrophic optical damage (COD) is analyzed during single current pulse excitation of 975 nm emitting diode lasers. Power transients and thermal images are monitored during each pulse. The COD process is unambiguously related to the occurrence of a thermal flash of Plancks radiation. We observe COD to ignite multiple times in subsequent pulses. Thermography allows for tracing a spatial motion of the COD site on the front facet of the devices. The time constant of power decay after the onset of COD has values from 400 to 2000 ns, i.e., an order of magnitude longer than observed for shorter-wavelength devices.
Single-pulse tests of the catastrophic optical damage (COD) are performed for three batches of diode lasers with different gain-regions. The tests involve in situ inspection of front, rear, and side of the devices by a thermocamera. Devices with an Al-containing gain-region show COD at the front facet, as expected for strong facet heating via surface recombination and reabsorption of laser light. In contrast, Al-free devices with low surface recombination rates tend to fail at the rear facet, pointing to a different heating scenario. The high carrier density at the rear facet favors heating and COD via Auger recombination processes.
Double-side cooled high-power diode laser bars packaged by different techniques on different types of passive heat sinks are analyzed in terms of packaging-induced strain. Reference data from standard devices being single-side cooled only and packaged by conventional soft and hard soldering are also presented. Thermal profiling across the devices complements the results. The most suitable packaging architecture and technique for double-side cooled bars is identified. Measurements of the laser emission near field and electroluminescence pattern provide direct reference to the functionality of the devices. Furthermore, a type of cross calibration of the methods used for strain analysis is made, since all techniques are applied to the same set of bars. This involves micro photoluminescence, micro Raman, and degree-of-polarization electroluminescence spectroscopy.
Thermografische ZfP-Verfahren erlauben die Erkennung einer Vielzahl von Defekten in unterschiedlichsten Werkstoffen. Neue Ansätze unter Verwendung von Lasern ermöglichen darüber hinaus die Prüfung auf Oberflächenrisse. Wir stellen die neuesten Entwicklungen dieser vielversprechenden Technik vor und zeigen warum deren Einsatz potentiell die Standardprüfverfahren Magnetpulver- bzw. Eindringprüfung für eine Reihe von Prüfproblemen beerben könnte. Hierzu stellen wir die Prüfergebnisse zu unterschiedlichen metallischen Werkstoffen, Rissgrößen und -typen in Abhängigkeit der Prüfparameter vor. Die aktuelle Grenze der Nachweisempfindlichkeit für die mittels klassischer Thermografie schwer prüfbaren hochreflektierenden Metalloberflächen liegt mit Rissbreiten und -tiefen von weni-gen Mikrometern im Bereich der fluoreszierenden Magnetpulver- und Eindringprüfung. Dabei sind weder Verbrauchsmittel noch eine Oberflächenpräparation notwendig und eine Prüfung kann berührungslos und automatisiert über Entfernungen im Meter-Bereich erfolgen.
Die Thermografie ist trotz ihrer ausgereiften wissenschaftlichen und technologischen Grundlagen ein noch relativ junges Mitglied in der Familie der zerstörungsfreien Prüfverfahren. Sie erschließt sich aufgrund einer Reihe von Vorzügen eine wachsende Anwenderschaft. Für eine weitere Verbreitung insbesondere im industriellen Kontext spielen Normen, Standards und Richtlinien eine wichtige Rolle. In diesem Beitrag wird der aktuelle Stand der Normierung vorgestellt. Wir werden zeigen, welche Grundlagennormen und Anwendungsnormen es für die Thermografie in Deutschland und international gibt und wir wagen einen Blick in die Zukunft. Darüber hinaus lebt auch die Normierungsarbeit von der Beteiligung durch interessierte Kreise. Dies können industrielle und akademische Anwender*innen, Hersteller*innen von Geräten, Forschungseinrichtungen oder Dienstleistungsunternehmen sein. Sie können gern Ihre Bedarfe bezüglich Normierungsprojekten mitbringen und/oder direkt an die Autoren senden.
This article presents deep unfolding neural networks to handle inverse problems in photothermal radiometry enabling super-resolution (SR) imaging. The photothermal SR approach is a well-known technique to overcome the spatial resolution limitation in photothermal imaging by extracting high-frequency spatial components based on the deconvolution with the thermal point spread function (PSF). However, stable deconvolution can only be achieved by using the sparse structure of defect patterns, which often requires tedious, handcrafted tuning of hyperparameters and results in computationally intensive algorithms. On this account, this article proposes Photothermal-SR-Net, which performs deconvolution by deep unfolding considering the underlying physics. Since defects appear sparsely in materials, our approach includes trained block-sparsity thresholding in each convolutional layer. This enables to super-resolve 2-D thermal images for nondestructive testing (NDT) with a substantially improved convergence rate compared to classic approaches. The performance of the proposed approach is evaluated on various deep unfolding and thresholding approaches. Furthermore, we explored how to increase the reconstruction quality and the computational performance. Thereby, it was found that the computing time for creating high-resolution images could be significantly reduced without decreasing the reconstruction quality by using pixel binning as a preprocessing step.
In this work we introduce an algorithm based on the well-known Canny approach for effectual crack detection in thermographic films obtained using flying spot thermography (FST) or flying line thermography (FLT). The proposed algorithm performs faster than another algorithm, for crack detection, based on the application of two Sobel filters (one in x and another one in y directions). For FLT it is shown that processing 10-25 % of the thermograms of a thermographic film required to scan a whole sample is enough to obtain good results. In contrast, using the Sobel filter approach requires the processing of twice the thermographic film length. Experimental measurements are performed on a metallic component of complex shape which contains real defects, that is, surface breaking cracks due to industrial use. The specimen is tested using flying line thermography. Three different scanning speeds are tested: 10, 30 and 60 mms-1 with laser powers of 50, 60 and 120 W respectively. The sample and an infrared camera are aligned and fixed on a motorized linear stage. The diode laser LDM500 (500 W max power) is fixed on an optical bench separately from the linear stage. The results obtained
with the proposed algorithm are additionally compared with a previously established algorithm for flying spot thermography based on the Sobel filter. It is shown that the proposed algorithm based on the Canny approach, can be used in automated systems for thermographic non-destructive testing.
Detection of surface breaking cracks using flying line laser thermography: A Canny-based algorithm
(2021)
In this work, we introduce a new algorithm for effectual crack detection using flying line laser thermography, based on the well-known Canny approach. The algorithm transforms the input thermographic sequence into an edge map. Experimental measurements are performed on a metallic component that contains surface breaking cracks due to industrial use. The specimen is tested using flying line thermography at different scanning speeds and laser input powers. Results obtained with the proposed algorithm are additionally compared with a previously established algorithm for flying spot thermography. The proposed Canny-based algorithm can be used in automated systems for thermographic non-destructive testing.
In vielen Umgebungen, besonders bei hohen Temperaturen, korrosiven Umgebungen oder auf bewegten oder schlecht zugänglichen Flächen, kann die Temperatur nicht oder nur mit nicht akzeptablem Aufwand mit Berührungsthermometern gemessen werden. Diese Umgebungsbedingungen sind unter anderem in der chemischen Industrie, der Lebensmittel-, Metall-, Glas-, Kunststoff- und Papierherstellung sowie bei der Lacktrocknung anzutreffen. In diesen Bereichen kommen Strahlungsthermometer zum Einsatz. Der VDI-Statusreport zeigt typische Anwendungsfelder von nicht radiometrisch kalibrierten Wärmebildkameras und von radiometrisch kalibrierten Thermografiekameras. Um verlässlich mit spezifizierten Messunsicherheiten berührungslos Temperaturen zu messen, müssen die Strahlungsthermometer und Thermografiekameras nicht nur kalibriert, sondern radiometrisch und strahlungsthermometrisch umfassend charakterisiert werden. Auch die optische Materialeigenschaft, der spektrale Emissionsgrad und die Gesamtstrahlungsbilanz (Strahlung des Messobjekts und der Umgebung) sind bei der industriellen Temperaturmessung von großer Bedeutung. In den letzten Jahrzehnten ist dazu ein umfassendes technisches Regelwerk entstanden, das wir Ihnen mit diesem VDI-Statusreport vorstellen. Manche in den Richtlinien beschriebenen Kennwerte mögen abstrakt wirken. In diesem Statusreport zeigen wir an konkreten Beispielen, was diese Kenngrößen für die berührungslose Temperaturmessung bedeuten. Beispiele von Anwendungen zeigen, wo temperaturmessende Thermografiekameras und ausschließlich bildgebende Wärmebildkameras in der Praxis eingesetzt werden. Mit einer Analyse, welche Themen und Anwendungen derzeit besonders intensiv diskutiert werden, versuchen wir Trends für zukünftige Entwicklungen herauszuarbeiten.
Pulse-compression thermography is an emerging technique that has shown versatility by combination of pulsed and lock-in thermography. Accordingly, several aspects of this technique are still unexplored, and some others not fully developed yet. Barker codes were widely used in radar applications due to their simplicity and their optimum autocorrelation function. Nevertheless, applications were limited by the amplitude of the sidelobes present in the autocorrelation function and therefore, several filters have been developed which aim to reduce the sidelobes. However, the filters usually depend on empirical parameters which must be determined for each application. A better alternative would improve the applicability of the Barker codes. In this work, we further develop the pulse-compression thermography technique by introducing a 13-bit modified Barker code (mBC): This allows to drastically reduce the sidelobes characteristic of the 13-bit Barker code (BC). Consequently, the thermographic impulse response, obtained by cross-correlation, is almost free of such sidelobes. Deeper defects become easier to detect in comparison with using a 13-bit Barker code. Numerical simulations using the finite element method are used for comparison and experimental measurements are performed in a sample of steel grade St 37 with machined notches of three different depths: 2 mm, 4 mm and 6 mm.
Pulse-compression thermography is an emerging technique that has shown versatility by combination of pulsed and lock-in thermography. Accordingly, several aspects of this technique are still unexplored, and some others not fully developed yet. Barker codes were widely used in radar applications due to their simplicity and their optimum autocorrelation function. Nevertheless, applications were limited by the amplitude of the sidelobes present in the autocorrelation function and therefore, several filters have been developed which aim to reduce the sidelobes. However, the filters usually depend on empirical parameters which must be determined for each application. A better alternative would improve the applicability of the Barker codes. In this work, we further develop the pulse-compression thermography technique by introducing a 13-bit modified Barker code (mBC): This allows to drastically reduce the sidelobes characteristic of the 13-bit Barker code (BC). Consequently, the thermographic impulse response, obtained by cross-correlation, is almost free of such sidelobes. Deeper defects become easier to detect in comparison with using a 13-bit Barker code. Numerical simulations using the finite element method are used for comparison and experimental measurements are performed in a sample of steel grade St 37 with machined notches of three different depths: 2 mm, 4 mm and 6 mm.
We combine three different approaches to greatly enhance the defect reconstruction ability of active thermographic testing. As experimental approach, laser-based structured illumination is performed in a step-wise manner. As an intermediate signal processing step, the virtual wave concept is used in order to effectively convert the notoriously difficult to solve diffusion-based inverse problem into a somewhat milder wavebased inverse problem. As a final step, a compressed-sensing based optimization procedure is applied which efficiently solves the inverse problem by making advantage of the joint sparsity of multiple blind measurements. To evaluate our proposed processing technique, we investigate an additively manufactured stainless steel sample with eight internal defects. The concerted super resolution approach is compared to conventional thermographic reconstruction techniques and shows an at least four times better spatial resolution.
Learned block iterative shrinkage thresholding algorithm for photothermal super resolution imaging
(2020)
Block-sparse regularization is already well-known in active thermal imaging and is used for multiple measurement based inverse problems. The main bottleneck of this method is the choice of regularization parameters which differs for each experiment. To avoid time-consuming manually selected regularization parameters, we propose a learned block-sparse optimization approach using an iterative algorithm unfolded into a deep neural network. More precisely, we show the benefits of using a learned block iterative shrinkage thresholding algorithm that is able to learn the choice of regularization parameters. In addition, this algorithm enables the determination of a suitable weight matrix to solve the underlying inverse problem. Therefore, in this paper we present the algorithm and compare it with state of the art block iterative shrinkage thresholding using synthetically generated test data and experimental test data from active thermography for defect reconstruction. Our results show that the use of the learned block-sparse optimization approach provides smaller normalized mean square errors for a small fixed number of iterations than without learning. Thus, this new approach allows to improve the convergence speed and only needs a few iterations to generate accurate defect reconstruction in photothermal super resolution imaging.
This paper presents deep unfolding neural networks to handle inverse problems in photothermal radiometry enabling super resolution (SR) imaging. Photothermal imaging is a well-known technique in active thermography for nondestructive inspection of defects in materials such as metals or composites. A grand challenge of active thermography is to overcome the spatial resolution limitation imposed by heat diffusion in order to accurately resolve each defect. The photothermal SR approach enables to extract high-frequency spatial components based on the deconvolution with the thermal point spread function. However, stable deconvolution can only be achieved by using the sparse structure of defect patterns, which often requires tedious, hand-crafted tuning of hyperparameters and results in computationally intensive algorithms. On this account, Photothermal-SR-Net is proposed in this paper, which performs deconvolution by deep unfolding considering the underlying physics. This enables to super resolve 2D thermal images for nondestructive testing with a substantially improved convergence rate. Since defects appear sparsely in materials, Photothermal-SR-Net applies trained blocksparsity thresholding to the acquired thermal images in each convolutional layer. The performance of the proposed approach is evaluated and discussed using various deep unfolding and thresholding approaches applied to 2D thermal images. Subsequently, studies are conducted on how to increase the reconstruction quality and the computational performance of Photothermal-SR-Net is evaluated.
Thereby, it was found that the computing time for creating high-resolution images could be significantly reduced without decreasing the reconstruction quality by using pixel binning as a preprocessing step.
Learned block iterative shrinkage thresholding algorithm for photothermal super resolution imaging
(2022)
Block-sparse regularization is already well known in active thermal imaging and is used for multiple-measurement-based inverse problems. The main bottleneck of this method is the choice of regularization parameters which differs for each experiment. We show the benefits of using a learned block iterative shrinkage thresholding algorithm (LBISTA) that is able to learn the choice of regularization parameters, without the need to manually select them. In addition, LBISTA enables the determination of a suitable weight matrix to solve the underlying inverse problem. Therefore, in this paper we present LBISTA and compare it with state-of-the-art block iterative shrinkage thresholding using synthetically generated and experimental test data from active thermography for defect reconstruction. Our results show that the use of the learned block-sparse optimization approach provides smaller normalized mean square errors for a small fixed number of iterations. Thus, this allows us to improve the convergence speed and only needs a few iterations to generate accurate defect reconstruction in photothermal super-resolution imaging.
The coherent superposition of two anti-phased thermal wave fields creates a zone of destructive interference which is extremely sensitive to the presence of defects without any reference measurements.
Combining a high power laser with a spatial light modulator allows modulating phase and amplitude of an illuminated surface that induces spatially and temporally controlled thermal wave fields. The position and depth of defects are reconstructed from analysis of the Amplitude and Phase of the resulting photothermal signal. The proposed concept is experimentally validated and supported by numerical modeling.
We present a systematic study on the performance of laser-thermography for the detection of surface cracks in metallic components. Scanning a metallic surface with laser causes local heating that is mapped simultaneously by an IR-camera and allows identifying cracks with sub-µm openings. The detectability, however, depends on a number of acquisition parameters (e.g. scanning speed, laser power, IR-camera resolution) that typically relate on each other. Most importantly, the detection-sensitivity of surface breaking cracks is given by a particular combination for the acquisition parameter values. As a result, this sensitivity is adaptable within wide ranges allowing the detection of cracks with openings ranging from 200 to 0.1 µm at testing speeds of 100 to 0.05 cm²/s. By examining artificial as well as fatigue cracks, we demonstrate that the method can be even applied to shiny surfaces with no need of pretreatments, which makes it an entirely contactless, remote and automatable NDT technique. A comparison with magnetic particle testing shows that laser-thermography has the potential to become a strong competitor to conventional surface inspection methods in the future.
The spontaneous emission of a GaAs-based tapered laser diode emitting at λ = 1060 nm was measured through a window in the transparent substrate in order to study the carrier density distribution inside the device. It is shown that the tapered geometry is responsible for nonuniform amplification of the spontaneous/stimulated emission which in turn influences the spatial distribution of the carriers starting from below threshold. The carrier density does not clamp at the lasing threshold and above it the device shows lateral spatial hole-burning caused by high stimulated emission along the cavity center.
Mechanisms and fast kinetics of the catastrophic optical damage (COD) in GaAs-based diode lasers
(2011)
COD diagram determined for a batch of broad-area AlGaAs diode lasers. The time to COD within a single current pulse is plotted versus the actual average optical power in the moment when the COD takes place. Full circles stand for clearly identified COD events (right ordinate), whereas open circles (left ordinate) represent the pulse duration in experiments, where no COD has been detected. A borderline (gray) exists between two regions, i. e., parameter sets, of presence (orange) and absence of COD (blue). This borderline is somewhat blurred because of the randomness in filamentation of the laser nearfield and scatter in properties of the involved individual devices.
The early stages of catastrophic optical damage (COD) in 808 nm emitting diode lasers are mapped by simultaneously monitoring the optical emission with a 1 ns time resolution and deriving the device temperature from thermal images. COD occurs in highly localized damage regions on a 30 to 400 ns time scale which is determined by the accumulation of excess energy absorbed from the optical output. We identify regimes in which COD is avoided by the proper choice of operation parameters.
We present an all-purpose crack detection algorithm for flying spot thermography which is directly applicable to a thermogram sequence without the need of any additional information about the experimental setup. A single image containing distinct crack signatures is derived in two steps. Firstly, the spatial derivative is calculated for each frame of the sequence and, secondly, the resulting data set is sorted pixel wise along the time axis. The feasibility of the proposed procedure is proven by testing a piece of rail that comprises roll contact fatigue cracks and by comparing the results with magnetic particle testing.
Widerstandspunktschweißen ist insbesondere im Automobilbau eine der wichtigsten Fügetechniken. Bislang erfolgt die Qualitätssicherung überwiegend durch stichprobenartige zerstörende Prüfung. Eine zerstörungsfreie Prüftechnik würde neben der Reduzierung der Prüfkosten auch eine Optimierung des Punktschweißverfahrens bedeuten, da prinzipiell jeder Schweißpunkt geprüft werden könnte und somit auch eine Reduzierung der Anzahl der Schweißpunkte möglich ist.
Es wird ein Verfahren vorgestellt, bei dem die Punktschweißverbindung zwischen zwei Stahlblechen optisch auf einer Blechseite mittels Laser oder Blitzlicht erwärmt wird. Die aufgeschmolzene Zone, die sogenannte Schweißlinse, stellt dabei neben der mechanischen Verbindung auch eine Wärmebrücke zwischen den beiden verschweißten Blechen dar, die bei diesem Verfahren ausgenutzt wird. Durch den verbesserten thermischen Kontakt zwischen den verschweißten Blechen an der Schweißlinse kontrastiert diese deutlich mit dem umgebenden Blechmaterial, bei dem der Wärmeübertrag zwischen den Blechen vergleichsweise gering ist. Dieser Kontrast im thermischen Verhalten kann mittels zeitabhängiger Thermografie gemessen werden.
Durch das hier vorgestellte Verfahren kann mittels aktiver Thermografie sowohl in Transmissions- als auch in Reflexionsanordnung die Größe des thermischen Kontaktes zwischen den beiden Blechen ermittelt werden, welche ein Maß für die Größe der Schweißlinse und damit für die qualitative Güte der Schweißung darstellt. Ein Vorteil des entwickelten Verfahrens ist seine Anwendbarkeit auf Bleche ohne Oberflächenbehandlung.
Wärmebehandlung und zerstörungsfreie Prüfung: Oberflächenrisse mit der Laser-Thermografie finden
(2015)
Die Thermografie als zerstörungsfreies Prüfverfahren erlaubt das Erkennen einer Vielzahl von Defekten in unterschiedlichsten Werkstoffen. Hierzu ist zum einen eine Energiequelle erforderlich, welche einen Wärmestrom im Werkstück erzeugt, und zum anderen eine Infrarot-Kamera, welche den orts- und zeitabhängigen Temperaturverlauf der Werkstückoberfläche analysiert. Neue Ansätze unter Verwendung von Lasern ermöglichen nun auch die Prüfung auf winzige Oberflächenrisse. Die aktuelle Grenze der Nachweisempfindlichkeit für mittels klassischer Thermografie nur schwer prüfbare hochreflektierende Metalloberflächen liegt mit Rissbreiten und -tiefen bis hinunter in den Sub-Mikrometerbereich und damit im Bereich der fluoreszierenden Magnetpulver- und Eindringprüfung. Dabei sind jedoch weder Verbrauchsmittel, noch eine Oberflächenpräparation notwendig und eine Prüfung kann berührungslos und automatisiert über Entfernungen bis in den Meter-Bereich erfolgen. Bei der Wärmebehandlung und insbesondere beim Randschichthärten mittels Laserstrahlung stehen ebenfalls hochleistungsfähige Energiequellen zur Erzeugung intensiver dynamischer Temperaturgradienten zur Verfügung. Damit eröffnet sich unmittelbar die Möglichkeit der Integration der thermografischen Prüfung in die Fertigung. Der Beitrag stellt die neuesten Entwicklungen der vielversprechenden Laser-Thermografie-Technik vor und zeigt, warum deren Einsatz potentiell die Standardprüfverfahren Magnetpulver- bzw. Eindringprüfung für eine Reihe von Prüfproblemen beerben könnte.
Wärmebehandlung und zerstöungsfreie Prüfung: Oberflächenrisse mit der Laser-Thermografie finden
(2014)
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.
The detection and characterization of surface cracks in steel specimens prior to damage is a technologically and economically highly significant task and is of utmost importance when it comes to safety-relevant structures. In steel production where steel billets at high temperatures have to be inspected while moving a number of well-established NDT methods cannot be applied. Laser thermography however is a promising candidate to serve as a fast, non-contact and remote tool in this case. We present a study that shows that the crack detection capabilities of laser thermography can be extended also to specimens at high temperature. A combination of inductive and laser heating allows to systematically study the contrast formation as well as the optimization of the important measurement parameters. The experiments are accompanied by FEM simulations that provide a better insight of the physical correlations and support the experimental developments. The aim of these studies is to develop a system with high inspection speed and detection performance to be in-line operated under the hostile environment of steel production lines.
In-line laser thermography for crack detection at elevated temperature: A Numerical modeling study
(2016)
The detection and characterization of cracks prior to damage is a technologically and economically highly significant task and is of very importance when it comes to safety-relevant structures. The evaluation of a components life is closely related to the presence of cracks in it. Laser thermography has already high capability for the detection of surface cracks and for the characterization of the geometry of artificial surface flaws in metallic samples. Crack detection in metallic samples at high temperature is highly significant in present manufacturing scenario. During the casting process of billets, surface cracks form, due to the suboptimal cooling rates. These cracks reduce value of the billet and must be removed using machining process after cooling. This secondary process increases cost of manufacturing. In this work we developed a heat transfer model for laser thermography to study the thermal contrast variation with increase in surface temperature using finite element method (FEM). Here we are mainly concentrating the capability of the scanning laser thermography in crack detection which are in elevated temperature and numerical modeling study of thermal contrast variation of crack with respect increase in metal surface temperature. This study is important to prove the capability of laser thermography for crack detection in elevated temperature. Since we are using High power CW Laser to local heating of the metal surface which can give relatively high thermal contrast even at elevated temperature compare to other heating source. Here we are modeled and simulated 2D laser scanning across a surface breaking crack and developed an algorithm to produce the vicinity of crack. The algorithm we developed applied for various surface temperature data. And validated the credibility of the algorithm with experimental data.
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.
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.
Optical lock-in thermography is a completely contactless and very sensitive NDT technique. As an optical source of energy, incandescent lamps are most commonly used because they are relatively inexpensive and offer high irradiances at the test specimen. However, they are strongly restricted by their low modulation bandwidth with a maximum modulation frequency of only about 1 Hz. The use of high-power kilowatt-class laser sources, e.g. diode laser arrays, pushes this constraint beyond 100 Hz. This allows for the exploration of the near-surface region of metals and layer systems with better and more accurate penetration depth and depth resolution. Moreover, these lasers are virtually free of any additional thermal radiation that could interfere with the “true” thermal response emitted from the heated sample. In turn, they can be easily used in a one-sided test configuration.
We present current activities with kilowatt-class high-power laser sources for advanced lock-in thermography and focus on the application of laser arrays that offer a very high irradiation strength over a large sample area beyond the mentioned advantages.
Optical lock-in thermography is a completely contactless and very sensitive NDT technique. As an optical source of energy, incandescent lamps are most commonly used because they are relatively inexpensive and offer high irradiances at the test specimen. However, they are strongly restricted by their low modulation bandwidth with a maximum modulation frequency of only about 1 Hz. The use of high-power kilowattclass laser sources, e.g. diode laser arrays, pushes this constraint beyond 100 Hz. This allows for the exploration of the near-surface region of metals and layer systems with better and more accurate penetration depth and depth resolution. Moreover, these lasers are virtually free of any additional thermal radiation that could interfere with the “true” thermal response emitted from the heated sample. In turn, they can be easily used in a one-sided test configuration. We present current activities with kilowatt-class highpower laser sources for advanced lock-in thermography and focus on the application of laser arrays that offer a very high irradiation strength over a large sample area beyond the mentioned advantages.
Optical lock-in thermography is a completely contactless and very sensitive NDT technique. As an optical source of energy, incandescent (i.e. halogen) lamps are most commonly used because they are relatively inexpensive and offer high irradiances at the test site. However, they are strongly restricted by their low modulation bandwidth with a maximum modulation frequency of only about 1 Hz. The use of high-power kilowatt-class laser sources, e.g. diode laser arrays, pushes this constraint beyond 100 Hz, see Fig.1. This allows for the exploration of the near-surface region of metals and layer systems with better and more accurate penetration depth and depth resolution. Moreover, these lasers are virtually free of any additional thermal radiation that could interfere with the “true” thermal response emitted from the heated sample. In turn, they can be easily used in a one-sided test configuration.
Using the one-dimensional solution to the thermal heat diffusion equation together with the absorptance of the material which is illuminated with a harmonically modulated light source, we can calculate the temperature oscillation at the surface of a solid. As a second step, we calculate the corresponding oscillation of the total thermal emission using Stefan-Boltzmann law as a first order approximation and taking into account the emissivity of the material. Within this framework we can calculate the minimal irradiance of a light source necessary to provoke a measurable signal within a thermographic camera at a noise equivalent temperature difference (NETD) of 30 mK. In Fig. 2 this relationship is displayed for a wide spectrum of modulation frequencies and for a number of different light sources scaled to the same electrical input power and illumination area. Using this figure, it is now easily possible to analyze the range of materials to be tested using lock-in thermography, since only the materials (dotted lines) below the irradiance-vs-frequency curves (solid lines) are heated in excess of the camera’s NETD. This figure clearly shows that laser sources considerably increase the application range of lock-in thermography, since especially for metals with a high reflectance and high thermal diffusivity a high irradiance is vitally important to allow for lock-in texting.
We present current activities with kilowatt-class high-power laser sources for advanced lock-in thermography and focus on the application of laser arrays that offer a very high irradiation strength over a large sample area beyond the mentioned advantages.
Optical lock-in thermography is a completely contactless and very sensitive NDT technique. As an optical source of energy, incandescent (i.e. halogen) lamps are most commonly used because they are relatively inexpensive and offer high irradiances at the test site. However, they are strongly restricted by their low modulation bandwidth with a maximum modulation frequency of only about 1 Hz. The use of high-power kilowatt-class laser sources, e.g. diode laser arrays, pushes this constraint beyond 100 Hz, see Fig.1. This allows for the exploration of the near-surface region of metals and layer systems with better and more accurate penetration depth and depth resolution. Moreover, these lasers are virtually free of any additional thermal radiation that could interfere with the “true” thermal response emitted from the heated sample. In turn, they can be easily used in a one-sided test configuration.
Using the one-dimensional solution to the thermal heat diffusion equation together with the absorptance of the material which is illuminated with a harmonically modulated light source, we can calculate the temperature oscillation at the surface of a solid. As a second step, we calculate the corresponding oscillation of the total thermal emission using Stefan-Boltzmann law as a first order approximation and taking into account the emissivity of the material. Within this framework we can calculate the minimal irradiance of a light source necessary to provoke a measurable signal within a thermographic camera at a noise equivalent temperature difference (NETD) of 30 mK. In Fig. 2 this relationship is displayed for a wide spectrum of modulation frequencies and for a number of different light sources scaled to the same electrical input power and illumination area. Using this figure, it is now easily possible to analyze the range of materials to be tested using lock-in thermography, since only the materials (dotted lines) below the irradiance-vs-frequency curves (solid lines) are heated in excess of the camera’s NETD. This figure clearly shows that laser sources considerably increase the application range of lock-in thermography, since especially for metals with a high reflectance and high thermal diffusivity a high irradiance is vitally important to allow for lock-in texting.
We present current activities with kilowatt-class high-power laser sources for advanced lock-in thermography and focus on the application of laser arrays that offer a very high irradiation strength over a large sample area beyond the mentioned advantages.
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.
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.
Photothermal radiometry with an infrared camera allows the contactless temperature measurement of multiple surface pixels simultaneously. A short light pulse heats the sample. The heat propagates through the sample by diffusion and the corresponding temperature evolution is measured at the sample’s surface by an infrared camera. The main drawback in radiometric imaging is the loss of the spatial resolution with increasing depth due to heat diffusion, which results in blurred images for deeper lying structures. We circumvent this information loss due to the diffusion process by using blind structured illumination, combined with a non-linear joint sparsity reconstruction algorithm. The structured illumination is realized by parallel laser lines from a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) array controlled by a random binary pattern generator. By using 150 different patterns of structured illumination and our iterative joint sparsity algorithm, it was possible to resolve 1 mm thick lines at a distance down to 0.5 mm, which results in a resolution enhancement of approximately a factor of four compared to the resolution of 5.9 mm for homogenous illuminated thermographic reconstruction.
In this paper we propose super resolution measurement and post-processing strategies that can be applied in thermography using laser line scanning. The implementation of these techniques facilitates the separation of two closely spaced defects and avoids the expected deterioration of spatial resolution due to heat diffusion. The experimental studies were performed using a high-power laser as heat source in combination with pulsed thermography measurements (step scanning) or with continuous heating measurements (continuous scanning). Our work shows that laser line step scanning as well as continuous scanning both can be used within our developed super resolution (SR) techniques. Our SR techniques make use of a compressed sensing based algorithm in post- processing, the so-called iterative joint sparsity (IJOSP) approach. The IJOSP method benefits from both - the sparse nature of defects in space as well as from the similarity of each measurement. In addition, we show further methods to improve the reconstruction quality e.g. by simple manipulations in thermal image processing such as by considering the effect of the scanning motion or by using different optimization algorithms within the IJOSP approach. These super resolution image processing methods are discussed so that the advantages and disadvantages of each method can be extracted. Our contribution thus provides new approaches for the implementation of super resolution techniques in laser line scanning thermography and informs about which experimental and post-processing parameters should be chosen to better separate two closely spaced defects.
The method described here allows to determine the size of the thermal contact between two metal sheets joined by spot welding. This size is a measure for the size of the weld nugget, i.e. the zone melted during the welding process, and thus the quality of the welded joint. The method applies active thermography in transmission or reflection setup. Especially the reflection setup offers an attractive possibility for non-destructive testing when components can be accessed from one side only. The spot weld region is optically heated by laser or flash light radiation. The weld nugget provides the mechanical joint, but also constitutes a thermal bridge between the two welded sheets. The latter will be exploited in this method. The better thermal contact at the weld Nugget contrasts with the surrounding material, where the heat transfer between the two sheets is comparatively low. A major advantage of the described method is the applicability on sheets without any surface treatment. This is achieved by a proper normalization of the data, allowing for a correction of the varying surface emissivity.
Spatial and temporal control of thermal waves by using DMDs for interference based crack detection
(2016)
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.
Spot welding is one of the most important joining technologies, especially in the automotive industry. Hitherto,the quality of spot welded joints is tested mainly by random destructive tests. A nondestructive testing technique offers the benefit of cost reduction of the testing procedure and optimization of the fabrication process, because every joint could be examined. This would lead to a reduced number of spot welded joints, as redundancies could be avoided. In the procedure described here, the spot welded joint between two zinc-coated steel sheets (HX340LAD+Z100MB or HC340LA+ZE 50/50) is heated optically on one side. Laser radiation and flash light are used as heat sources. The melted zone, the so called “weld nugget” provides the mechanical stability of the connection, but also constitutes a thermal bridge between the sheets. Due to the better thermal contact, the spot welded joint reveals a thermal behavior different from the surrounding material, where the heat transfer between the two sheets is much lower. The difference in the transient thermal behavior is measured with time resolved thermography. Hence, the size of the thermal contact between the two sheets is determined, which is directly correlated to the size of the weld nugget, indicating the quality of the spot weld. The method performs well in transmission with laser radiation and flash light. With laser radiation, it works even in reflection geometry, thus offering the possibility of testing with just one-sided accessibility. By using heating with collimated laser radiation, not only contactfree, but also remote testing is feasible. A further convenience compared to similar thermographic approaches is the applicability on bare steel sheets without any optical coating for emissivity correction. For this purpose, a proper way of emissivity correction was established.
Sicherheitsrelevante und zyklisch hoch belastete Bauteile erfordern zur Vermeidung von kostenintensiven Ausfällen besonders stabile Prozessparameter. Bereits sehr kleine Randzonenfehler können unter zyklischer Bauteilbelastung zu Risswachstum und letztendlich zum Bauteilversagen führen. Die frühzeitige Erkennung von Randzonenfehler in Hochleistungsbauteilen wie z.B. Zahnräder, Ritzelwellen und Kurbelwellen erfordert daher eine leistungsfähige zerstörungsfreie Oberflächenrissprüfung, die es ermöglicht in den hochbeanspruchten Funktionsflächen auch Härterisse, Schleifrisse oder Zundereinschlüsse zu detektieren.
Hierzu sind in den letzten Jahren einige neue, innovative Oberflächenprüfverfahren wie die laserangeregte Thermografie und die Streuflussprüfung mit hochauflösenden GMR-Sensoren oder magnetooptischen Verfahren entwickelt worden. Zusätzlich zur hohen Empfindlichkeit zeichnen sich diese innovativen Verfahren durch einen schnellen und teils auch berührungslosen Einsatz aus. Da die noch relativ neu-en Verfahren naturgemäß noch nicht normativ verankert sind, wurden auch bereits erste Validierungen durchgeführt. Um die Leistungsfähigkeit der Verfahren eingehend zu untersuchen, erfolgten Testreihen an verschiedenen Testkörpern in Bezug auf Ortsauflösung, Empfindlichkeit, Automatisierung und Bewertung der Messsig-nale.
Neben den neuen Verfahren und ihren ersten Schritten hin zur Validierung kamen als Referenz auch die „klassischen“ Verfahren der Magnetpulver- und Wirbelstromprüfung zum Einsatz, deren Leistungsfähigkeit durch angepasste Sondenentwicklung auch für sehr kleine Oberflächendefekte nochmals unter Beweis gestellt wurde. Zusätzlich wurde an einigen Testkörpern eine hochauflösende CT durchgeführt. Die Ergebnisse dieses Vergleiches werden vorgestellt und Möglichkeiten sowie Grenzen der einzelnen Verfahren herausgearbeitet.
This paper presents different super resolution reconstruction techniques to overcome the spatial resolution limits in thermography. Pseudo-random blind structured illumination from a onedimensional laser array is used as heat source for super resolution thermography. Pulsed thermography measurements using an infrared camera with a high frame rate sampling lead to a huge amount of data. To handle this large data set, thermographic reconstruction techniques are an essential step of the overall reconstruction process. Four different thermographic reconstruction techniques are analyzed based on the Fourier transform amplitude, principal component analysis, virtual wave reconstruction and the maximum thermogram. The application of those methods results in a sparse basis representation of the measured data and serves as input for a compressed sensing based algorithm called iterative joint sparsity (IJOSP). Since the thermographic reconstruction techniques have a high influence on the result of the IJOSP algorithm, this paper Highlights their Advantages and disadvantages.
Crack detection in steel bars at high surface temperatures is a critical problem in any manufacturing industry. Surface breaking cracks are the major problems during the billet casting. Many NDT techniques are proven its capability in crack detection at room temperature. Here, we are demonstrating the possibility of exposure of cracks using laser line thermography at higher surface temperatures (up to 600 °C). A continuous-wave (CW) laser is used to excite the sample kept at higher surface temperatures. The temperature distribution over the sample due to the laser line scanning is captured using a temperature calibrated infrared (IR) thermal camera. The response of the sample temperature in crack detection is investigated using a validated FE model. The impact of the oxide layer in crack detection is investigated by using two types of samples; one without any oxide layer and the second is with the oxide layer. The influence of laser power in the detection of defects at high temperatures is studied. 3D numerical models were developed for the cases; when the sample is with oxide layer and without any oxide layer for a better understanding of physics. The surface temperature rise due to laser heating is higher for the scaled sample compared to the no-scale sample. The presence of the oxide layer above the parent metal will reduce the reflectivity of the surface. Lower reflectivity will lead to increased absorption of incident energy so that the surface temperature rise will be higher than the surface with no scale. Thermal contrast linearly depends on laser power, which means higher laser power will increase the defect detectability even at a higher surface temperature.
The detection of cracks before the failure is highly significant when it comes to safety-relevant structures. Crack detection in metallic samples at high surface temperature is one of the challenging situation in manufacturing industries.
Laser thermography has already proved its detection capability of surface cracks in metallic samples at room temperature. In this work a continuous wave (CW) laser use to generate a laser, which is using to scan the metal surface with notch.
The corresponding heat distribution on the surface monitored using infrared thermal (IR) camera. A simplified 3D model for laser thermography is developed and validated with experimental results. A dedicated image processing algorithm developed to improve the detectability of the cracks. To understand the dependency of surface temperature, laser power, laser scanning speed etc. in defect detection, we carried out parametric studies with our validated model. Here we Report the capability of laser thermography in crack detection at elevated temperature.
Crack detection in metallic samples at high surface temperature, hostile and hazardous environments, etc. is challenging situation in any manufacturing industries. Most of the present NDE methods are suitable only for lower surface temperatures, especially room temperature. In this situation, we need a fast and non-contact NDT method which can be applied even in high sample surface temperature. Laser thermography is one of the techniques having a high potential in non-contact inspection. As a preliminary investigation, in this article, we have studied the potentiality of laser line thermography in crack detection at room temperature. In laser line thermography, a continuous wave (CW) laser is used to generate a laser line, which in turn is used to scan the metal surface. The heat distribution over the sample surface is recorded by an infrared thermal (IR) camera. Two different approaches are reported in this work. Firstly, a stationary laser line source and its interaction with cracks; secondly, moving laser line source scanning over a surface with crack. When the distance between crack centre to laser line centre increases, crack detectability will decrease; and when laser power increases, crack detectability will increase. A dedicated image processing algorithm was developed to improve the detectability of the cracks. To understand the heat transfer phenomenon, a simplified 3D model for laser thermography was developed for the heat distribution during laser heating and was validated with experimental results. Defects were incorporated as a thermally thin resistive layer (TTRL) in numerical modeling, and the effect of TTRL in heat conduction is compared with experimental results.
Classification of Spot-Welded Joints in Laser Thermography Data Using Convolutional Neural Networks
(2021)
Spot welding is a crucial process step in various industries. However, classification of spot welding quality is still a tedious process due to the complexity and sensitivity of the test material, which drain conventional approaches to its limits. In this article, we propose an approach for quality inspection of spot weldings using images from laser thermography data. We propose data preparation approaches based on the underlying physics of spot-welded joints, heated with pulsed laser thermography by analyzing the intensity over time and derive dedicated data filters to generate training datasets. Subsequently, we utilize convolutional neural networks to classify weld quality and compare the performance of different models against each other. We achieve competitive results in terms of classifying the different welding quality classes compared to traditional approaches, reaching an accuracy of more than 95 percent. Finally, we explore the effect of different augmentation methods.
The paper presents an attempt for the calibration of an active
thermography method that is suitable for the non-destructive
evaluation of spot welds. Nowadays, the quality of spot welds is
commonly characterised by the application of random chisel tests,
which are time consuming, expensive and destructive. Recently a
non-destructive testing method by means of active thermography
was proposed that relies on the fact that the mechanical connection
formed by the spot weld also serves as a thermal bridge between
the two steel sheets joined in the welding process. It is shown in this
paper that this thermal bridge can be thermographically characterised
by extracting a measure for the spot weld diameter and hence the
quality of the spot weld. The determination of the absolute value
of the diameter hereby relies on a calibration of the testing system,
which is performed by means of X-ray computed tomography in this
study. The experiments were carried out using different experimental
approaches, namely transmission as well as reflection geometry
wSetup in reflectionith laser illumination. A comprehensive evaluation
of samples produced using different welding currents, hence different
quality, was carried out in order to validate the thermographic results.
Im Bereich der optisch angeregten Thermografie haben sich Blitzlampen (impulsförmig-flächige Erwärmung) und Halogenlampen (moduliert-flächige Erwärmung) für die spezifischen Regime Impuls- und Lockin-Thermografie etabliert.
Mittels eines rasternden fokussierten Lasers wird die Flying-spot Laserthermografie z.B. zur Risserkennung (Dauerstrichbetrieb) und die photothermische Materialcharakterisierung (hochfrequent moduliert)implementiert. Durch die Verfügbarkeit neuer Technologien (schnelle und hochauflösende IR-Kameras, brillante innovativer Lichtquellen und performante Datenakquisitions- und Verarbeitungstechnik) wird ein Paradigmenwechsel von den getrennt voneinander stehenden photothermischen und thermografischen Techniken hin zu einer einheitlichen quantitativen Mess-und Prüftechnik ermöglicht, die schneller und präziser ist. Ähnlich wie ein LED-Array, jedoch mit einer um zwei Größenordnungen höheren Bestrahlungsstärke, steht jetzt eine neuartige brillante Laserquelle, das VCSEL-Array (vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser) zur Verfügung, welches die starke Beschränkung der zeitlichen Dynamik der etablierten Lichtquellen aufhebt und gleichzeitig spektral sauber von der Detektionswellenlänge getrennt ist. Es vereint somit das schnelle zeitliche Verhalten eines Diodenlasers mit der hohen optischen Bestrahlungsstärke und dem großen Beleuchtungsbereich von Blitzlampen. Darüber hinaus kann die Erwärmung auch strukturiert vorgenommen werden, da einzelne Bereiche des VCSEL-Arrays unabhängig voneinander angesteuert werden können. Dieser neue Freiheitsgrad ermöglicht die Entwicklung ganz neuer thermografischer ZfP-Verfahren.
Im Bereich der optisch angeregten Thermografie haben sich Blitzlampen (impulsförmig-flächige Erwärmung) und Halogenlampen (moduliert-flächige Erwärmung) für die spezifischen Regime Impuls- und Lockin-Thermografie etabliert.
Mittels eines rasternden fokussierten Lasers wird die Flying-spot Laserthermografie z.B. zur Risserkennung (Dauerstrichbetrieb) und die photothermische Materialcharakterisierung (hochfrequent moduliert)implementiert. Durch die Verfügbarkeit neuer Technologien (schnelle und hochauflösende IR-Kameras, brillante innovativer Lichtquellen und performante Datenakquisitions- und Verarbeitungstechnik) wird ein Paradigmenwechsel von den getrennt voneinander stehenden photothermischen und
thermografischen Techniken hin zu einer einheitlichen quantitativen Mess-und Prüftechnik ermöglicht, die schneller und präziser ist. Ähnlich wie ein LED-Array, jedoch mit einer um zwei Größenordnungen höheren Bestrahlungsstärke, steht jetzt eine neuartige brillante Laserquelle, das VCSEL-Array (vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser) zur Verfügung, welches die starke Beschränkung der zeitlichen Dynamik der etablierten Lichtquellen aufhebt und gleichzeitig spektral sauber von der Detektionswellenlänge getrennt ist. Es vereint somit das schnelle zeitliche Verhalten eines Diodenlasers mit der hohen optischen Bestrahlungsstärke und dem großen Beleuchtungsbereich von Blitzlampen. Darüber hinaus kann die Erwärmung auch strukturiert vorgenommen werden, da einzelne Bereiche des VCSEL-Arrays unabhängig voneinander angesteuert werden können. Dieser neue Freiheitsgrad ermöglicht die Entwicklung ganz neuer thermografischer ZfP-Verfahren.
Die Detektion bzw. Charakterisierung von Oberflächenrissen in Stahl ist eine herausfordernde Aufgabe für die zerstörungsfreie Prüfung. Dies gilt insbesondere, wenn eine solche Prüfung bereits während der Produktion selbst erfolgen soll. Die hier vorgefundenen Randbedingungen, wie z.B. die hohen Probentemperaturen (>700°C) oder Vorschubgeschwindigkeiten von bis zu 0,9 m/min, machen die Anwendung etablierter und vor allem berührender ZfP-Methoden praktisch meist unmöglich. Laser-thermografische Verfahren können hier eine Alternative bieten, da sie berührungslos und schnell arbeiten. Wir stellen die Ergebnisse einer Weiterentwicklung der Laser-thermografischen Prüfung vor, bei der die Anwendbarkeit bzw. die Übertragbarkeit der Methode auf die Bedingungen der Stahlproduktion untersucht wurde.
Neben der Simulation der Produktionsbedingungen im Labor und der experimentellen Untersuchung der entscheidenden Einflussgrößen, wurden umfangreiche FEM-Simulationen durchgeführt. Mit Hilfe dieser theoretischen und experimentellen Ergebnisse wurde das Verfahren auch hinsichtlich der Analyse-Algorithmen weiterentwickelt, um eine zuverlässige und schnelle In-Line Prüfung während des Produktionsprozesses zu ermöglichen. Um zudem die Fähigkeiten der Thermografiekamera für schnelle online-Messungen und ihre Integrierbarkeit in verschiedene Anwendungssysteme zu verbessern, wurde die für die Verarbeitung der Detektordaten erforderliche Non-Uniformity Correction der Pixeldaten auf schneller Spezialhardware innerhalb der Kamera implementiert.
The aim of this work is to illustrate the contribution of signal processing techniques in the field of Non-Destructive Evaluation. A component’s life evaluation is inevitably related to the presence of flaws in it. The detection and characterization of cracks prior to damage is a technologically and economically significant task and is of very importance when it comes to safety-relevant measures. The Laser Thermography is the most effective and advanced thermography method for Non-Destructive Evaluation. High capability for the detection of surface cracks and for the characterization of the geometry of artificial surface flaws in metallic samples of laser thermography is particularly encouraging. This is one of the non- contacting, fast and real time detection method. The presence of a vertical surface breaking crack will disturb the thermal footprint. The data processing method plays vital role in fast detection of the surface and sub-surface cracks.
Currently in laser thermographic inspection lacks a compromising data processing algorithm which is necessary for the fast crack detection and also the analysis of data is done as part of post processing. In this work we introduced a raw data based image processing algorithm which results precise, better and fast crack detection. The algorithm we developed gives better results in both experimental and modeling data. By applying this algorithm we carried out a detailed investigation Variation of thermal contrast with crack parameters like depth and width. The algorithm we developed is applied for various surface temperature data from the 2D scanning model and also validated credibility of algorithm with experimental data.
Subsurface defect localization by structured heating using laser projected photothermal thermography
(2017)
The presented method is used to locate subsurface defects oriented perpendicularly to the surface. To achieve this, we create destructively interfering thermal wave fields that are disturbed by the defect. This effect is measured and used to locate the defect. We form the destructively interfering wave fields by using a modified projector. The original light engine of the projector is replaced with a fiber-coupled high-power Diode laser. Its beam is shaped and aligned to the projector's spatial light modulator and optimized for optimal optical throughput and homogeneous projection by first characterizing the beam profile, and, second, correcting it mechanically and numerically. A high-performance infrared (IR) camera is set up according to the tight geometrical situation (including corrections of the geometrical image distortions) and the requirement to detect weak temperature oscillations at the sample surface. Data acquisition can be performed once a synchronization between the individual thermal wave field sources, the scanning stage, and the IR camera is established by using a dedicated experimental setup which needs to be tuned to the specific material being investigated. During data post-processing, the relevant information on the presence of a defect below the surface of the sample is extracted. It is retrieved from the oscillating part of the acquired thermal radiation coming from the so-called depletion line of the sample surface. The exact location of the defect is deduced from the analysis of the spatial-temporal shape of these oscillations in a final step. The method is reference-free and very sensitive to changes within the thermal wave field. So far, the method has been tested with steel samples but is applicable to different materials as well, in particular to temperature sensitive materials.
Mit Laserlicht kann man eine Materialoberfläche berührungslos und schnell moduliert aufheizen. Dabei entsteht eine stark gedämpfte Wärmewelle, die tief ins Material eindringen kann. Erzeugt und überlagert man solche thermischen Wellen auf kohärente Weise, dann kann man damit versteckte Materialfehler zerstörungsfrei und sehr präzise aufspüren. Sogar eine bildgebende Tomografie ist denkbar.
We report on photothermal detection of subsurface defects by coherent superposition of thermal wave fields. This is made possible by structured heating using high-power VCSEL laser arrays whose individual emitter groups can be arbitrarily controlled. In order to locate the defects, we have developed a scanning method based on the continuous wavelet transformation with complex Morlet wavelet using the destructive interference effect of thermal waves. This approach can also be used for thermally very fast and highly reflective materials such as uncoated aluminum. We show that subsurface defects at an aspect ratio of defect width to defect depth down to 1/3 are still detectable in this material.
Da die Thermografie als zerstörungsfreies Prüfverfahren noch vergleichsweise neu in der Anwendung ist, beziehen sich die aktuell veröffentlichten und überarbeiteten Normen und Richtlinien im Wesentlichen auf die grundlegenden Prinzipien des Verfahrens und die verschiedenen Anregungs- und Auswertungstechniken, auf die Begriffe und auf die Gerätetechnik.
Die grundlegenden Normen zum Prinzip des Prüfverfahrens, zu den Geräten und zu den Begriffen wurden in 2016 grundlegend überarbeitet und als CEN-Normen neu veröffentlicht. Im Anschluss dazu wird in 2017 der überarbeitete Normentwurf zur aktiven Thermografie veröffentlicht. Mit der Bearbeitung einer europäischen Norm zur Laserthermografie wurde begonnen.
Auf nationaler Ebene werden zur Zeit Normen zu den verschiedenen Anregungstechniken erarbeitet. Anfang 2017 wurde der Normentwurf zur Impuls-Thermografie mit optischer Anregung veröffentlicht. Geplant sind weiterhin Entwurfsveröffentlichungen zur induktiv angeregten Thermografie sowie zur Lock-in-Thermografie mit optischer Anregung. Parallel dazu wurde die Überarbeitung der Norm zur Thermografischen Prüfung elektrischer Anlagen publiziert.
Mit der Richtlinie VDI/VDE 3511 Blatt 4 bis 4.4 gibt es ein anerkanntes Regelwerk für die rückführbare Temperaturmessung und Kalibrierung von Strahlungsthermometern, die bisher für Thermografiekameras fehlte. In 2016 wurde daher die VDI/VDE Richtlinie 5585 Blatt 1 zur messtechnischen Charakterisierung von Thermografiekameras als Entwurf veröffentlicht. In Bearbeitung ist momentan Blatt 2 zur Kalibrierung von Thermografiekameras mit dem Ziel, auch für Thermografiekameras anerkannte Regeln zur rückführbaren Temperaturmessung zu erstellen.
Im Beitrag werden die Anwendungsbereiche dieser Normen und Richtlinien vorgestellt und neue zukünftige Anwendungsbereiche in der Fertigung und Instandhaltung diskutiert.
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 perpendicular 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 ansatz, 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.
Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Lasers (VCSELs) sind Diodenlaser, welche Laserstrahlung mit gutem Strahlprofil senkrecht zur Chipoberfläche emittieren. Aufgrund dieser vertikalen Bauweise können sie in großen Arrays zu vielen tausenden einzelnen Lasern zusammengefasst werden. Solch ein VCSEL-Array vereint das schnelle zeitliche Verhalten eines Diodenlasers mit der hohen optischen Bestrahlungsstärke und dem großen Beleuchtungsbereich von Blitzlampen oder LEDs und kann damit potentiell alle herkömmlichen Lichtquellen der Thermografie ersetzen.
Darüber hinaus kann der Prüfkörper mithilfe dieser Lichtquelle strukturiert erwärmt werden, da einzelne Bereiche des VCSEL-Arrays unabhängig voneinander angesteuert werden können. Dieser neue Freiheitsgrad ermöglicht die Entwicklung neuer thermografischer ZfP-Verfahren. Wir demonstrieren diesen Ansatz anhand eines für die konventionelle Thermografie nur sehr bedingt lösbaren Prüfproblems, der Detektion vertikal zur Oberfläche ausgerichteter, sehr dünner, verdeckter Defekte in metallischen Werkstoffen. Wir erzeugen hierzu destruktiv interferierende thermische Wellenfelder. Defekte im Einflußbereich dieser thermischen Wellenfelder stören die destruktive Interferenz und erlauben eine hochsensible Detektion bis in Tiefen jenseits der üblichen thermografischen Faustformel, ohne Referenz und ohne Oberflächenbehandlung.
Optical lock-in thermography is a completely contactless and very sensitive NDE technique. As an optical source of energy, incandescent (i.e. halogen) lamps are most commonly used because they are relatively inexpensive, do not need any work safety measures and offer high irradiances at the test site. However, they are strongly restricted by their low modulation bandwidth with a maximum modulation frequency of only about 1 Hz. The use of high-power kilowatt-class laser sources, e.g. diode laser arrays, pushes this constraint beyond 100 Hz. This allows for the exploration of the near-surface region of metals and layer systems with better and more accurate penetration depth and depth resolution. Moreover, these lasers are virtually free of any additional thermal radiation that could interfere with the “true” thermal response emitted from the heated sample. In turn, they can be easily used in a one-sided test configuration. Altogether using lasers considerably increases the application range of lock-in thermography, since especially for metals with a high reflectance and high thermal diffusivity a high irradiance is vitally important to allow for lock-in testing [1, 2]. We report on the mentioned benefits of using such high-power lasers and analyze the range of materials to be tested using lock-in thermography in dependence on the laser irradiance, the modulation frequency, the infrared camera as well as the optical and thermal material parameters. In this context, we also address a number of systematic errors caused by the use of ideal and non-ideal heat sources. For example, the measured phase angle in lock-in thermography depends on the irradiance and the modulation bandwidth of the source. This in turn has a decisive influence on the uncertainty in the quantification of, e.g. layer thicknesses.
In this work, the limits of using spatially structured heating combined with subsequent photothermal super resolution reconstruction for the thermographic detection and resolution of internal defects are investigated. The approach is based on the application of modern high-power laser projector technology, which is used to repeatedly project varying spatially structured 2D pixel patterns to photothermally heat the object under test. After processing the generated thermographic data using nonlinear convex optimisation in conjunction with exploiting the joint-sparse nature of the defect signals within the individual measurements, a high-resolution 2D-sparse defect/inhomogeneity map is obtained. The main focus of the investigation is set on the influence of the number of individual measurements on the achievable reconstruction quality. Using numerical simulations based on an analytical representation of the forward solution to the underlying inverse problem, the convergence rate over performed measurements of the achievable reconstruction quality is determined. Finally, all findings are experimentally validated by reconstructing a set of internal defects in an additively manufactured sample. In this work, it is shown that for a variety of different defect separation distances, the projection of 50 different pixel patterns allows for a good trade-off between experimental complexity and reconstruction quality.
Die Thermografie ist trotz ihrer ausgereiften wissenschaftlichen und technologischen Grundlagen ein noch relativ junges Mitglied in der Familie der zerstörungsfreien Prüfverfahren. Sie erschließt sich aufgrund einer Reihe von Vorzügen eine wachsende Anwendungsgemeinde. Für eine weitere Verbreitung insbesondere im industriellen Kontext spielen Normen, Standards und technische Regeln eine wichtige Rolle. In diesem Beitrag wird der aktuelle Stand der Normung in Deutschland vorgestellt. Wir zeigen, welche Normen und technischen Regeln es für die Thermografie in Deutschland und international gibt und wir wagen einen Blick in die Zukunft. Darüber hinaus lebt auch die Normierungsarbeit von der Beteiligung durch interessierte Kreise. Dies können industrielle und akademische Anwender*innen, Hersteller*innen von Geräten, Forschungseinrichtungen oder Dienstleistungsunternehmen sein. Sie können gern Ihre Bedarfe bezüglich Normierungsprojekten mitbringen und/oder direkt an die Autoren senden.
Die Thermografie ist trotz ihrer ausgereiften wissenschaftlichen und technologischen Grundlagen ein noch relativ junges Mitglied in der Familie der zerstörungsfreien Prüfverfahren. Sie erschließt sich aufgrund einer Reihe von Vorzügen eine wachsende Anwendungsgemeinde. Für eine weitere Verbreitung insbesondere im industriellen Kontext spielen Normen, Standards und technische Regeln eine wichtige Rolle. In diesem Beitrag wird der aktuelle Stand der Normung in Deutschland vorgestellt. Wir zeigen, welche Normen und technischen Regeln es für die Thermografie in Deutschland und international gibt und wir wagen einen Blick in die Zukunft. Darüber hinaus lebt auch die Normierungsarbeit von der Beteiligung durch interessierte Kreise. Dies können industrielle und akademische Anwender*innen, Hersteller*innen von Geräten, Forschungseinrichtungen oder Dienstleistungsunternehmen sein. Sie können gern Ihre Bedarfe bezüglich Normierungsprojekten mitbringen und/oder direkt an die Autoren senden.
Due to their high irradiance and wide modulation bandwidth, high-power lasers open up a wide field of application. For example, the classical methods of pulse and lock-in thermography can be realized in high quality. In addition, structured heating is also possible by using arrays of such lasers. This makes it possible to implement new thermographic methods, such as interference-based detection of cracks or super resolution.
Thermographic reconstruction of defects that lie in the bulk of a sample is a difficult task because entropy production during heat diffusion leads to information loss. To reconstruct defects one has to solve an inverse heat conduction problem. The quality of the reconstruction is closely related to the information content of the observed data set that is reflected by the decreasing ability to spatially resolve a defect with growing defect depth. In this work we show a 2D reconstruction of rectangular slots with different width-to-depth ratios in a metallic sample. For this purpose, we apply the virtual wave concept and incorporate positivity and sparsity as prior information to overcome the diffusion-based information loss partially. The reconstruction is based on simulated and experimental pulse thermography data. In the first reconstruction step, we compute a virtual wave field from the surface temperature data. This allows us, in the second step, to use ultrasonic backpropagation methods for image reconstruction.
Thermographic super-resolution techniques allow the resolution of defects/inhomogeneities beyond the classical limit, which is governed by the diffusion properties of thermal wave propagation. Photothermal super-resolution is based on a combination of an experimental scanning strategy and a numerical optimization which has been proven to be superior to standard thermographic methods in the case of 1D linear defects. In this contribution, we report on the extension of this approach towards a full frame 2D photothermal super-resolution technique. The experimental approach is based on a repeated spatially structured heating using high power lasers. In a second post-processing step, several measurements are coherently combined using mathematical optimization and taking advantage of the (joint) sparsity of the defects in the sample. In our work we extend the possibilities of the method to efficiently detect and resolve defect cross sections with a fully 2D-structured blind illumination.
The separation of two closely spaced defects in fields of Thermographic NDE is very challenging. The diffusive nature of thermal waves leads to a fundamental limitation in spatial resolution. Therefore, super resolution image reconstruction can be used. A new concerted ansatz based on spatially structured heating and joint sparsity of the signal ensemble allows for an improved reconstruction of closely spaced defects. This new technique has been studied using a 1D laser array with randomly chosen illumination pattern.
This paper presents the results after applying super resolution algorithms, such as the iterative joint sparsity (IJOSP) algorithm, to our processed measurement data. Different data processing techniques before applying the IJOSP algorithm as well as the influence of regularization parameters in the data processing techniques are discussed. Moreover, the degradation of super resolution reconstruction goodness by the choice of experimental parameters such as laser line width or number of measurements is shown.
The application of the super resolution results in a spatial resolution enhancement of approximately a factor of four which leads to a better separation of two closely spaced defects.
In this work we focus on our most recent studies to super resolution (SR) laser thermography. The goal of SR nondestructive testing methods is to facilitate the separation of closely spaced defects. We explain how to combine laser scanning with SR techniques. It can be shown that stepwise as well as continuous scanning techniques are applicable. Finally, we discuss the effect of experimental parameters and im-age processing techniques to find the optimal SR technique which leads to the highest reconstruction quality within laser thermography.
Using spatial and temporal shaping of laser-induced diffuse thermal wave fields in thermography
(2020)
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.
Die thermografische ZfP basiert auf der Wechselwirkung von thermischen Wellen mit Inhomogenitäten. Diese Inhomogenitäten hängen mit der Probengeometrie oder der Materialzusammensetzung zusammen. Obwohl die Thermografie für ein breites Spektrum von Inhomogenitäten und Materialien geeignet ist, ist die grundlegende Einschränkung die diffuse Natur der thermischen Wellen und die Notwendigkeit, ihre Wirkung lediglich an der Probenoberfläche radiometrisch messen zu können. Die Ausbreitung der thermischen Wellen von der Wärmequelle über die Inhomogenität zur Detektionsoberfläche führt zu einer Verschlechterung des räumlichen Auflösungsvermögens der thermografischen Technik. Ein neuer konzertierter Ansatz auf Basis einer räumlich strukturierten Erwärmung und einer Joint Sparsity des Signalensembles ermöglicht eine verbesserte Rekonstruktion von Inhomogenitäten.
Im Beitrag wird die Implementierung dieses Ansatzes auf Basis einer strukturierten Beleuchtung mit einem 1D-Laser-Array vorgestellt. Die einzelnen Emitterzellen des Laser-Arrays werden durch ein pseudozufälliges Binärmuster gesteuert und zusätzlich leicht verschoben. Die wiederholte Messung dieser verschiedenen Konfigurationen bei gleichzeitig konstanter Inhomogenität ermöglicht eine Rekonstruktion der Inhomogenität unter Ausnutzung der Joint Sparsity.
Active thermography as a nondestructive testing modality suffers greatly from the limitations imposed by the diffusive nature of heat conduction in solids. As a rule of thumb, the detection and resolution of internal defects/inhomogeneities is limited to a defect depth to defect size ratio greater than or equal to one. Earlier, we demonstrated that this classical limit can be overcome for 1D and 2D defect geometries by using photothermal laser-scanning super resolution. In this work we report a new experimental approach using 2D spatially structured illumination patterns in conjunction with compressed sensing and computational imaging methods to significantly decrease the experimental complexity and make the method viable for investigating larger regions of interest.
Für die aktive Thermografie als zerstörungsfreie Prüfmethode galt lange Zeit die Faustformel, dass die Auflösung interner Defekte/Inhomogenitäten auf ein Verhältnis von Defekttiefe/Defektgröße ≤ 1 beschränkt ist. Die Ursache hierfür liegt in der diffusiven Natur der Wärmeleitung in Festkörpern. Sogenannte Super-Resolution-Ansätze erlauben seit Kurzem die Überwindung dieser physikalischen Grenze um ein Vielfaches. Damit ergibt sich die attraktive Möglichkeit die Thermografie von einem rein oberflächensensitiven Prüfverfahren hin zu einem Verfahren mit verbesserter Tiefenreichweite zu entwickeln. Wie weit diese Entwicklung getrieben werden kann, ist Gegenstand aktueller Forschung.
Wir konnten bereits zeigen, dass diese klassische Grenze für 1D- und 2D Defektgeometrien mit Hilfe des Abscannens des Prüfkörpers mittels einzelner Laserspots und der anschließenden Anwendung von photothermischer Super-Resolution-Rekonstruktion überwunden werden kann. Bei dieser Methode wird eine Kombination aus sequenzieller räumlich strukturierter Beleuchtung und numerischen Optimierungsmethoden eingesetzt. Dies geschieht allerdings auf Kosten der experimentellen Komplexität, die zu einer langen Messdauer, großen Datensätzen und langwieriger numerischer Auswertung führt.
In dieser Arbeit berichten wir über einen neuen experimentellen Ansatz, bei dem räumlich strukturierte 2D-Beleuchtungsmuster in Verbindung mit Compressed-Sensing und Computational-Imaging-Methoden verwendet werden, um die experimentelle Komplexität deutlich zu verringern und die Methode für die Untersuchung größerer Prüfflächen nutzbar zu machen.
Der experimentelle Ansatz basiert dabei auf der wiederholten (blinden) photothermischen Anregung mit räumlich strukturierten 2D-Mustern unter Verwendung moderner Projektortechnik und eines Hochleistungslasers. In der anschließenden numerischen Rekonstruktion werden mehrere Messungen unter Ausnutzung der Joint-Sparsity der Defekte innerhalb des Prüfkörpers mittels nichtlinearer konvexer Optimierungsmethoden kombiniert. Als Ergebnis kann eine 2D-sparse Defekt-/Inhomogenitätskarte erstellt werden.
Thermographic super resolution techniques allow the spatial resolution of defects/inhomogeneities below the classical limit, which is governed by the diffusion properties of thermal wave propagation. In this work, we report on the extension of this approach towards a full frame 2D super resolution technique. The approach is based on a repeated spatially structured heating using high power lasers. In a second post-processing step, several measurements are coherently combined using mathematical optimization and taking advantage of the (joint) sparsity of the defects in the sample
The work to be presented focuses on our most recent studies to laser excited super resolution (SR) thermography. The goal of nondestructive testing with SR is to facilitate the separation of closely spaced defects. Photothermal SR can be realized by performing structured illumination measurements in com-bination with the use of deconvolution algorithms in post-processing. We explain that stepwise as well as continuous scanning techniques are applicable to generate structured illumination measurements. Finally, we discuss the effect of experimental parameters and image processing techniques to find the optimal SR technique which leads to the highest reconstruction quality within laser thermography.
Das thermografische Nachweisprinzip beruht auf der Analyse von instationären Temperaturverteilungen, welche durch die Wechselwirkung eines von außen zugeführten Wärmestroms mit der inneren Geometrie des Prüfobjekts oder mit darin eingeschlossenen Inhomogenitäten verursacht werden. Eine äquivalente Beschreibung dieses wechselwirkenden Wärmestroms ist die Ausbreitung von Wärmewellen im Inneren des Prüfobjekts. Obwohl die Thermografie für die Erkennung einer Vielzahl von Inhomogenitäten und für die Prüfung verschiedenster Materialien geeignet ist, besteht die grundlegende Einschränkung in der diffusen Natur der Wärmewellen und der Notwendigkeit, ihre Wirkung nur an der Prüfobjektoberfläche radiometrisch messen zu können. Der fundamentale Nachteil von diffusen Wärmewellen gegenüber propagierenden Wellen, wie sie z. B. im Ultraschall vorkommen, ist die dadurch verursachte schnelle Verschlechterung der räumlichen Auflösung mit zunehmender Defekttiefe. Diese Verschlechterung schränkt in der Regel die Anwendbarkeit der Thermografie bei der Suche nach kleinen tiefliegenden Defekten ein.
Ein vielversprechender Ansatz zur Verbesserung der räumlichen Auflösung und damit der Erkennungsempfindlichkeit und der Rekonstruktionsqualität in der thermografischen Prüfung liegt in der speziellen Formung dieser diffusen Wärmewellenfelder mittels strukturierter Laserthermografie bzw. photothermischer Anregung. Einige Beispiele sind:
- Schmale rissartige Defekte unterhalb der Oberfläche können durch Überlagerung mehrerer interferierender Wärmewellenfelder mit hoher Empfindlichkeit detektiert werden,
- Nahe beieinander liegende Defekte können durch mehrere Messungen mit unterschiedlichen Heizstrukturen getrennt werden,
- Defekte in unterschiedlichen Tiefen können durch eine optimierte zeitliche Gestaltung der thermischen Anregungsfunktion unterschieden werden,
- Schmale Risse auf der Oberfläche können durch robotergestütztes Scannen mit fokussierten Laserspots gefunden werden,
- Defekte, die während der additiven Fertigung auftreten, können bereits im Bauraum und mit dem Fertigungslaser detektiert werden.
Wir präsentieren die neuesten Ergebnisse dieser Technologie, die mit Hochleistungslasersystemen und modernen numerischen Methoden erzielt wurden.