A survey of infrared and visual image fusion methods

Eddy current pulsed thermography (ECPT) is an emerging nondestructive testing and evaluation (NDT&E) technique and has been applied for a wide range of conductive materials. In this paper, a single-channel blind source separation is proposed to process the ECPT image sequences. The proposed method enables: 1) automatically extract valuable spatial and time patterns according to the whole transient response behavior without any training knowledge, 2) automatically identify defect patterns and quantify the defects, and 3) to provide guidelines of choosing the optimal contrast functions that can improve the separation results. In this paper, both mathematical and physical models are discussed and linked. The basis of the selection of separated spatial and time patterns is also presented. In addition, an artificial slot and a thermal fatigue natural crack are applied to validate the proposed method.

Automatic Defect Identification of Eddy Current Pulsed Thermography Using Single Channel Blind Source Separation

With the development and operation of high speed trains, condition based maintenance becomes an important approach for the improvement of reliability and safety of rail transportation. This paper reports a feasibility study using pulsed eddy current thermography for imaging multiple cracks caused by rolling contact fatigue (RCF). After reviewing rail track inspection and RCF cracks, a PEC thermography system is introduced and applied to the imaging of multiple rolling contact fatigue cracks. Potential on-line inspection for rail track is also discussed.

PEC thermography for imaging multiple cracks from rolling contact fatigue

Eddy-current induced thermography (induction thermography, hereon referred to as eddytherm) is an active thermographic method which is capable of rapid and non-contacting detection of out-of-plane cracks in electrically conductive parts. In an eddytherm inspection, the part is induction heated; cracks cause localised changes in the induced eddy-current flow and the associated Joule heating is imaged at the surface of the part with an infrared camera. In this study the detectability of fatigue cracks in steel, titanium and Waspaloy is quantified by novel but simple image processing routines which are specifically applicable to eddytherm inspection. The quantitative detection data is then input into a cumulative log-normal probability of detection model to estimate the probability of detecting the fatigue cracks as a function of crack length. a90,95 (i.e., the crack length which can be detected 90% of the time with 95% confidence) is found to be 0.60 mm for steel, 0.78 mm for titanium and 1.50 mm for Waspaloy (a nickel-based superalloy), showing eddytherm to be an extremely sensitive method.

Eddy-current induced thermography—probability of detection study of small fatigue cracks in steel, titanium and nickel-based superalloy

Active thermography is a nowadays widely used NDT method making use of thermal material properties for defect detection. Basically, the sample is heated and the resulting surface temperature is recorded by an IR camera. For laser thermography a laser is used to heat the sample locally. The resulting spherical heat flow allows the detection of voids in arbitrary orientation. In this work, a method is presented which is suitable for the quantitative characterization of depth and angle of surface cracks. The main idea is to evaluate the crack-caused asymmetries of the laser's thermal footprint. The heat is introduced at fixed reference positions relative to the crack. In this paper a data analysis procedure is presented which allows the crack depth and angle to be described by only two characteristic scalar parameters. By investigating artificial test specimens with spark eroded notches, the feasibility of this method is validated. Furthermore, the behavior of the characteristic parameters with variations of crack angle, depth and experimental conditions is studied systematically by FEM simulations, showing that these parameters are well behaved.

Crack sizing by laser excited thermography

Induction thermography is a non‐contacting, non‐destructive evaluation method with a wide range of applications. A deeper understanding of the detectability of cracks requires fundamental knowledge about the induced current density distribution in the component under test. A calculation of the current distribution provides information how much current is flowing at which location of the component, how a crack disturbs the current density, how much heat is produced at which location of the component, and how the heat diffuses to the surface. The heating process depends on the type of crack. On the one hand there are cracks which can be detected mainly by direct observation of the heating process due to an increased current density, and on the other hand there are cracks which can be detected mainly because of a modification of the heat diffusion. This paper presents an analytical model for the calculation of the current distribution, including the back‐flow current along with finite‐element calculations. Furthermore, two new crack models are presented for a better description of real cracks.

Mechanisms and models for crack detection with induction thermography

For better evaluation of infrared measurements in non-destructive testing, especially for objects with complex geometry or small dimensions, it is beneficial to combine with the same viewing angle an image of a camera in the visible range with the image of an infrared camera. In the hybrid camera developed by us, a beam splitter is used which combines the visible and the infrared wavelength regions under the same viewing angle to form a hybrid image. The applications of this new technique range from the localization and the verification of false indications in non-destructive testing applications to the retrieval of 3D surface information with a hybrid picture as texture with defect indications and the filtering of laser markings displayed in the IR image to area and process monitoring.

M. Rothenfusser

Papers

Mechanisms and models for crack detection with induction thermography

Fusion of visual and infrared thermography images for advanced assessment in non-destructive testing.