Study the Nonlinearity in Sonic IR Imaging NDE

Abstract

<p>Sonic IR Imaging combines pulsed ultrasound excitation and infrared imaging to detect defects in materials. The sound pulse causes rubbing due to non-‐unison motion between faces of defects, and infrared sensors image the temperature map over the target to identify defects. It works in various materials, including metal/metal alloy, ceramics, and composite materials. Its biggest advantage is that it's a fast, wide area NDE technique. It takes only a fraction of a second or a few seconds, depending on the thermal properties of the target, for one test over a few square feet. However, due to the nonlinearity in the coupling between the ultrasound transducer and the target, the repeatability has been an issue, which affects its application. In this paper, we will present our study on this issue in Sonic IR.</p>