THERMOGRAPHIC STRESS ANALYSIS/NDE VIA FOCAL PLANE ARRAY DETECTORS

THIS INNOVATION WILL ADVANCE THE STATE OF THE ART AND PRACTICAL CAPABILITIES OF THERMOGRAPHIC STRESS ANALYSIS (TSA) AND NONDESTRUCTIVE EVALUATION (NDE) TO INVESTIGATE ANDPREDICT THE MECHANICAL BEHAVIORS OF MODELS AND REAL STRUCTURES. A BENCHMARKING METHOD WILL BE ESTABLISHED TO OPTIMIZE STRESS RESOLUTION AND SPEED OF IMAGING. A NEW TSA/NDE SYSTEM BASED ON FOCAL PLANE ARRAY DETECTORS WILL BE DESIGNED AND ANALYTICALLY EVALUATED. THE OBJECTIVES ARE TO QUANTIFY THE NET CAPABILITY OF ANY EXISTING OR PROPOSED TSA/NDE INSTRUMENT, ESTIMATE THE EXPECTED IMPROVEMENT OF THEPROPOSED SYSTEM OVER CURRENT ONES, AND CREATE THE PRELIMINARY DESIGN OF AN INSTRUMENT WITH HIGH STRESS RESOLUTION AND SPEED. THE ANTICIPATED RESULTS OF PHASE I WORK WILL INCLUDE A PROTOTYPE BENCHMARKING INSTRUMENT THAT WILL AID IN DETERMINING THE FEASIBILITY OF THE NEW TSA/NDE INSTRUMENT. THE PROTOTYPE OF THE NEW DEVICE WILL BE MADE DURING PHASE II, AIMING FOR NASA APPLICATIONS IN BASIC MATERIAL STUDIES (MONOLITHICS AND COMPOSITIES; WIDE RANGE OFTEMPERATURES), AND QUANTITATIVE, STRESS-BASED NDE AND LIFE PREDICTION OF MACHINES AND STRUCTURES. THE METHOD WILL BE CAPABLE OF FULL-FIELD, NONCONTACTING ANALYSIS OF OBJECTS LOADED SINUSOIDALLY OR SELF-EXCITED, SUCH AS ENGINES. THIS INNOVATION WILL ADVANCE THE STATE OF THE ART AND PRACTICAL CAPABILITIES OF THERMOGRAPHIC STRESS ANALYSIS (TSA) AND NONDESTRUCTIVE EVALUATION (NDE) TO INVESTIGATE ANDPREDICT THE MECHANICAL BEHAVIORS OF MODELS AND REAL STRUCTURES. A BENCHMARKING METHOD WILL BE ESTABLISHED TO OPTIMIZE STRESS RESOLUTION AND SPEED OF IMAGING. A NEW TSA/NDE SYSTEM BASED ON FOCAL PLANE ARRAY DETECTORS WILL BE DESIGNED AND ANALYTICALLY EVALUATED. THE OBJECTIVES ARE TO QUANTIFY THE NET CAPABILITY OF ANY EXISTING OR PROPOSED TSA/NDE INSTRUMENT, ESTIMATE THE EXPECTED IMPROVEMENT OF THEPROPOSED SYSTEM OVER CURRENT ONES, AND CREATE THE PRELIMINARY DESIGN OF AN INSTRUMENT WITH HIGH STRESS RESOLUTION AND SPEED. THE ANTICIPATED RESULTS OF PHASE I WORK WILL INCLUDE A PROTOTYPE BENCHMARKING INSTRUMENT THAT WILL AID IN DETERMINING THE FEASIBILITY OF THE NEW TSA/NDE INSTRUMENT. THE PROTOTYPE OF THE NEW DEVICE WILL BE MADE DURING PHASE II, AIMING FOR NASA APPLICATIONS IN BASIC MATERIAL STUDIES (MONOLITHICS AND COMPOSITIES; WIDE RANGE OFTEMPERATURES), AND QUANTITATIVE, STRESS-BASED NDE AND LIFE PREDICTION OF MACHINES AND STRUCTURES. THE METHOD WILL BE CAPABLE OF FULL-FIELD, NONCONTACTING ANALYSIS OF OBJECTS LOADED SINUSOIDALLY OR SELF-EXCITED, SUCH AS ENGINES.