As a practical and effective tool for quantitative in-plane deformation measurement of a planar object surface, two-dimensional digital image correlation (2D DIC) is now widely accepted and commonly used in the field of experimental mechanics. It directly provides full-field displacements to sub-pixel accuracy and full-field strains by comparing the digital images of a test object surface acquired before and after deformation. In this review, methodologies of the 2D DIC technique for displacement field measurement and strain field estimation are systematically reviewed and discussed. Detailed analyses of the measurement accuracy considering the influences of both experimental conditions and algorithm details are provided. Measures for achieving high accuracy deformation measurement using the 2D DIC technique are also recommended. Since microscale and nanoscale deformation measurement can easily be realized by combining the 2D DIC technique with high-spatial-resolution microscopes, the 2D DIC technique should find more applications in broad areas.

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0957-0233/20/6/062001/pdf

Two-dimensional digital image correlation for in-plane displacement and strain measurement: a review

Optical full-field measurement methods such as Digital Image Correlation (DIC) are increasingly used in the field of experimental mechanics, but they still suffer from a lack of information about their metrological performances. To assess the performance of DIC techniques and give some practical rules for users, a collaborative work has been carried out by the Workgroup "Metrology" of the French CNRS research network 2519 "MCIMS (Mesures de Champs et Identification en Mecanique des Solides / Full-field measurement and identification in solid mechanics, http://www.ifma.fr/lami/gdr2519)". A methodology is proposed to assess the metrological performances of the image processing algorithms that constitute their main component, the knowledge of which being required for a global assessment of the whole measurement system. The study is based on displacement error assessment from synthetic speckle images. Series of synthetic reference and deformed images with random patterns have been generated, assuming a sinusoidal displacement field with various frequencies and amplitudes. Displacements are evaluated by several DIC packages based on various formulations and used in the French community. Evaluated displacements are compared with the exact imposed values and errors are statistically analyzed. Results show general trends rather independent of the implementations but strongly correlated with the assumptions of the underlying algorithms. Various error regimes are identified, for which the dependence of the uncertainty with the parameters of the algorithms, such as subset size, gray level interpolation or shape functions, is discussed.

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Assessment of digital image correlation measurement errors: methodology and results

Digital image correlation techniques are commonly used to measure specimen displacements by finding correspondences between an image of the specimen in an undeformed or reference configuration and a second image under load. To establish correspondences between the two images, numerical techniques are used to locate an initially square image subset in a reference image within an image taken under load. During this process, shape functions of varying order can be applied to the initially square subset. Zero order shape functions permit the subset to translate rigidly, while first-order shape functions represent an affine transform of the subset that permits a combination of translation, rotation, shear and normal strains. In this article, the systematic errors that arise from the use of undermatched shape function, i.e., shape functions of lower order than the actual displacement field, are analyzed. It is shown that, under certain conditions, the shape functions used can be approximated by a Savitzky-Golay low-pass filter applied to the displacement functions, permitting a convenient error analysis. Furthermore, this analysis is not limited to the displacements, but naturally extends to the higher-order terms included in the shape functions. This permits a direct analysis of the systematic strain errors associated with an undermatched shape function. Detailed numerical studies are presented for the case of a second-order displacement field and first- and second-order shape functions. Finally, the relation of this work to previously published studies is discussed.

Systematic errors in digital image correlation due to undermatched subset shape functions

Developments in digital image correlation in the last two decades have made it a popular and effective tool for full-field displacement and strain measurements in experimental mechanics In digital image correlation, the use of the sub-pixel registration algorithm is regarded as the key technique to improve accuracy Different types of sub-pixel registration algorithms have been developed However, little quantitative research has been carried out to compare their performances This paper investigates three types of the most commonly used sub-pixel displacement registration algorithms in terms of the registration accuracy and the computational efficiency using computer-simulated speckle images A detailed examination of the performances of each algorithm reveals that the iterative spatial domain cross-correlation algorithm (Newton–Raphson method) is more accurate, but much slower than other algorithms, and is recommended for use in these applications

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0957-0233/17/6/045/pdf

Performance of sub-pixel registration algorithms in digital image correlation

Digital image correlation for surface deformation measurement: historical developments, recent advances and future goals

This paper presents an imaging technique developed to study the strain localization phenomena that occur during the tension of thin, flat steel samples. The data are processed using digital speckle image correlation to derive the two in-plane components of the displacement vectors. The authors observe that the calculation of the intercorrelation function reveals a systematic error and propose a numerical method to limit its influence. Plastic incompressibility and thin-sheet assumptions are used to derive the third displacement component and, hence, the various strain and strain rate components. Numerous checks are presented at each step in processing the data to determine the final accuracy of the strain measurements. It is estimated that this accuracy is quite sufficient to track the inception and the development of localization. Examples of possible application are presented for mild steels whose strain localization mechanisms appear to be precocious and gradual.

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Analysis of strain localization during tensile tests by digital image correlation

The aim of this paper is to show that recent advances made in the field of speckle image processing give valuable information useful in understanding and modelling of localisation phenomena. The potentialities of the proposed imaging method are illustrated by examples extracted from tensile tests performed on steel specimens. Having introduced the underlying motivations of this experimental work, this paper briefly focuses on the image processing technique and its reliability. Then, it describes the characteristics of the strain field within and outside of a propagating Luders band. The properties of strain states associated with diffuse and localised necking are also investigated. The catalyst role of possible geometrical defects is pointed out. Finally, a method is proposed to construct, despite localisation, a local stress–strain correspondence.

/pdf/kinematic-manifestations-of-localisation-phenomena-in-steels-3gtiqmk2ev.pdf

Kinematic manifestations of localisation phenomena in steels by digital image correlation

The linked evolution of heat source distributions and strain rate fields was determined on the surface of steel samples during monotone tensile tests using infrared thermography and speckle techniques. We first showed that one or more narrow and dissipative bands, characterized by high strain rates, propagate along the gauge part of the sample during the plastic plateau that precedes strain hardening. We then describe the early and progressive concentration of strong dissipation zones during the strain hardening phase, which prefigures the localized necking of the sample.

M. Némoz-Gaillard

Papers

Analysis of strain localization during tensile tests by digital image correlation

Kinematic manifestations of localisation phenomena in steels by digital image correlation

Experimental Analysis of Localization Mechanisms in Mild Steels by Infrared and Speckle Image Processing