Investigation of the Effectiveness of Different Thermographic Testing Modalities in Damage Detection

Abstract

The paper deals with practical aspects of Thermographic Nondestructive Testing (TNDT). A comparative study of burst vibrothermography (VT) and pulsed thermography (PT) measurements is presented and discussed. The authors have developed a diagnostic system for thermographic testing of structures that was used to perform experiments. Supported test modalities include burst vibrothermography and pulsed thermography, among other techniques. The system comprises both hardware and software components facilitating TNDT inspections. Experimental testing has been performed, on a composite plate, using the developed diagnostic system and two of the supported test modalities. The goal of these investigations was to compare the performance of both TNDT methods in revealing Barely Visible Impact Damage (BVID) in a composite plate.