Comparative Evaluation of a High Operating Temperature Midwave Infrared Detector for Automated Non-Destructive Inspection of Composite Damage
Jaslyn Gray, Michael Woodrow, Cédric Rosalie, Nik Rajic
download PDFAbstract. A new high operating temperature (HOT) midwave infrared (MWIR) imaging core is experimentally evaluated for use in automated inspection of composite impact damage by line scan thermography (LST). This evaluation is undertaken as part of a broader effort to develop an autonomous inspection capability for aerospace composite structures, deployable by ground and aerial robotic systems. The performance of the HOT MWIR core is assessed against a high-performance cooled photon-detector camera, an uncooled microbolometer core and an uncooled microbolometer camera, on two carbon epoxy laminate test specimens: one containing flat-bottom-hole synthetic defects and the other barely visible impact damage (BVID) introduced by controlled low-velocity impact. These test panels are scanned using a 3-axis robotic LST apparatus, at speeds of 25 and 100 mm/s. The HOT MWIR core is shown to match the detection performance of the cooled camera, and to significantly outperform both microbolometers. The high performance of this core combined with its relatively low mass, size and power consumption offers an encouraging basis for the development of a drone-deployable LST inspection capability.
Keywords
Line Scan Thermography, Composites, Dynamic Pulse Phase Thermography, Non-destructive Testing, Barely Visible Impact Damage, Robotic Inspection
Published online 2/20/2021, 8 pages
Copyright © 2021 by the author(s)
Published under license by Materials Research Forum LLC., Millersville PA, USA
Citation: Jaslyn Gray, Michael Woodrow, Cédric Rosalie, Nik Rajic, Comparative Evaluation of a High Operating Temperature Midwave Infrared Detector for Automated Non-Destructive Inspection of Composite Damage, Materials Research Proceedings, Vol. 18, pp 29-36, 2021
DOI: https://doi.org/10.21741/9781644901311-4
The article was published as article 4 of the book Structural Health Monitoring
Content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 licence. Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI.
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