Handheld IR Corrosion Detection System

Thermal Wave Imaging, Inc. will study the feasibility of a handheld device for quantitative identification and measurement of hidden corrosion, using pulsed thermography. The device will be capable of field operation under battery power, and in confined spaces where physical access to the sample is limited. The device will be designed as an add-on to a generic IR camera, using an open architecture capable of operation with a variety of cameras. The device will mimic the operation of a handheld ultrasonic thickness gauge, in that the technician will simply point the device at the target area, and then read the result. Quantitative measurement of thickness loss due to corrosion will be accomplished by analyzing the behavior in time of each pixel in the image in response to a heat pulse.