PORTABLE THERMOGRAPHIC INSPECTION FOR COMPOSITES

INFRARED THERMAL IMAGING COMBINED WITH ADVANCED IMAGE PROCESSING TECHNIQUES AND DESIGN FOR PORTABILITY IS PROPOSED AS A METHOD FOR ENHANCING THE DETECTION OF CRITICAL DEFECTS IN COMPOSITE STRUCTURES. IT IS BELIEVED THAT THE INCORPORATION OF ADVANCED IMAGE PROCESSING TECHNIQUES CAN SUBSTANTIALLY EXTEND THE SENSITIVITY RRANGE. THE INFRARED IMAGING APPROACH OFFERS THE ADVANTAGES OF PROVIDING A PORTABLE, NON-CONTACT INSPECTION SYSTEM AND PROVIDES RAPID INSPECTION OF RELATIVELY LARGE AREAS. DATA IS COLLECTED ON VIDEOTAPE AND CAN BE VIEWED IN REAL TIME FOR MORE SEVERE DEFECT CONDITIONS. POST INSPECTION ANALYSIS OF THE DATA AT AN IMAGE ENHANCEMENT WORKSTATION CAN INCREASE THE SENTISITIVITY FOR THE DETECTION OF LESS SEVERE DEFECT CONDITIONS. THE PHASE I RESULTS WILL ESTABLISH THE FEASIBILITY OF USING THE PORTABLE DESIGN AND THE ADVANCED IMAGE PROCESSING APPROACHES TO EXTEND THE SENSITIVITY AND WILL DETERMINE HEAT EXCITATION TECHNIQUES AND KEY IMAGE PROCESSING STEPS WHICH ARE MOST EFFECTIVE. THE PHASE II PROGRAM WILL FURTHER REFINE THE DESIGN CONCEPTS AND THE IMAGE PROCESSING TO OPTIMIZE SENSITIVITY FOR VARIOUS TYPES OF DISCONTINUITIES AND WILL ESTABLISH RULES FOR INTERPRETATION OF THE ENHANCED INFRARED IMAGES. A PROTOTYPE PORTABLE INSPECTION SYSTEM WILL BE DEVELOPED UNDER THE PHASE II PROGRAM.