Digital Image Correlation Images Research Articles

Fracture behaviour of reaction-bonded silicon carbide-boron carbide using digital image correlation

The current research uses the Digital Image Correlation (DIC) approach to study the fracture behaviour of Reaction-Bonded Silicon Carbide-Boron Carbide (SiC–B4C) ceramic (RBSBC). A Photron camera with 137,500 fps was used to capture the crack propagation at an interframe time frame of 2.6 ms before final fracture. The purpose was to capture the rapid brittle behaviour of the ceramic during the onset of crack propagation. The RBSBC failed in a transgranular manner like most monolithic SiC-based materials as Hexoloy-SA. The presence of randomly dispersed coarse B4C grains helps in deflecting the crack path which increases the overall crack length. The material’s resistance to crack propagation (R-curve) was measured using the crack tip opening displacement, the stress intensity at the crack tip KI, and the J-integral against crack extension. Two methods were used to determine the KI: experimentally based on the displacement values at the crack tip as obtained from the DIC images, and quasistatic based on the fracture load and the geometrical dimension of the crack. The experimentally-determined KI and J resulted in higher values compared to the quasistatic ones. However, they reflect the actual conditions at the crack tip, while the quasistatic conditions underestimate the resistance-plot. The RBSBC has higher R-curve compared to commercially available SiC-only materials as Hexoloy-SA and ABC-SiC. To improve the crack-resistance of RBSBC, the Si amount should decrease to a nm level, while the percentage of B4C grains should increase and be evenly dispersed across the material.

Comparative study on fracture evolution in steel fibre and bar reinforced concrete beams using acoustic emission and digital image correlation techniques

In recent decades, the demand for sustainable construction practices has increased, but raw materials such as reinforcing steel remain scarce. Therefore, steel fibres have emerged as a popular and sustainable choice in the construction industry, offering a cost-effective alternative to traditional steel bar reinforcement for both flatwork and elevated structures. The purpose of this study is therefore to compare the performance of fracture behaviour between steel fibre-reinforced concrete (SFRC) and steel bar-reinforced concrete (SBRC) beams subjected to three-point bending. The fracture process was monitored by using two non-invasive techniques: acoustic emission (AE) and digital image correlation (DIC). The damage level was identified by characterizing the parameter-based AE data such as hit rate, energy release, count, rise time, amplitude, and signal strength. DIC images were employed to visualise the crack propagation in parallel with the AE data. To further understand the fracture characteristics, the integration of 2D source localization of AE events (based on local AE fracture energies) with DIC results was investigated. The parameter-based AE results showed that SBRC beam experienced a high density of AE hits with large peak amplitude events that were accelerated during the pre-peak loading phase. The Ib-value analysis revealed that SBRC beam exhibited a higher degree of fracture magnitude during the primary crack development process than SFRC beam. Following the main cracking stage, SFRC beam demonstrated an improved post-cracking softening behavior and superior ability to arrest crack propagation compared to SBRC beam. The integration of local AE fracture energy and DIC results provided a novel approach for a better understanding of the fracture behaviour in both SFRC and SBRC beams. This study’s findings contribute to more precise monitoring of fracture evolution in SFRC and SBRC beams, ultimately improving the selection process for primary reinforcement in flatwork and elevated structures.

Automatic crack tip localization in enormous DIC images to in-situ characterize high-temperature fatigue crack growth behavior

Digital Image Correlation (DIC), with its advantages of full-field, non-contact and applicability to extreme environments, is a powerful deformation measurement technique to in-situ monitor the high-temperature fatigue crack propagation behavior. For the DIC-based fracture mechanics analyses of cracking, crack tip position in DIC images, which is usually determined visually and manually, plays a significant role. However, the long-term fatigue-DIC experiment at both room-and high-temperatures poses a real challenge due to the huge amount of DIC images, lower image quality at high-temperature, and even the invisibility of cracks. In this paper, a fully automated algorithm for localizing the crack tip is proposed based on the crack tip displacement field and the immune algorithm. Compared to traditional algorithms, it does not necessitate iterative initial values of crack tip location, and permits precise and fast determination of critical fracture mechanics parameters, such as the Stress Intensity Factors (SIFs). The algorithm reliability is validated by both numerical simulation and fatigue testing of nickel-based superalloy GH4169 at room temperature and 650℃. It is shown that crack tip position and SIF values can be precisely and automatically determined within 7 s per image using an ordinary low-cost computer, which significantly improves the analyzing efficiency.

A simple image correlation technique for imaging subsurface damage from low-velocity impacts in composite structures

A robust computer vision system is proposed to visualize subsurface barely visible impact damage (BVID) in composite structures through a simple image correlation technique together with a damage imaging condition. This system uses a digital camera to record a video of the surface motion, capturing micron-scale dynamic movement from guided waves propagating on the surface of the structure generated via a sweeping frequency excitation (chirp) up to the ultrasonic frequency range. As the excitation frequency changes during the chirp, waves become trapped within this damaged region, forming standing waves to generate local resonance at specific frequencies. This localized resonance accumulates high wave energy in the region, generating a higher transverse displacement at the damage site compared to the remaining part of the structure. In this work, a simple image correlation technique is proposed to correlate each filtered video frame with the temporal mean of the filtered wavefield video to highlight standing waves at localized damage. The proposed image correlation technique is distinct from digital image correlation (DIC) since it does not use correlation for subset matching to track the movement of surface patterns between two images (video frames). Instead, it uses correlation to directly quantify similarities between corresponding image pixels (windows). Utilizing a single camera greatly simplifies system complexity and hence enhances the practicality and potential for real-time performance over a recently developed technique that utilized 3D DIC with a stereo camera for vision-based BVID detection. To realize the aim, work was conducted in two sequential steps: (1) off-axis 2D DIC was employed rather than 3D DIC to examine the potential of employing a single camera to capture images and extract not only in-plane displacement but also a fraction of transverse displacement in which local resonance is dominant and (2) image correlation was then employed, supplanting the off-axis 2D DIC image processing involved in the first step, to highlight the damage with significantly less processing complexity. This proposed technique using a zero-mean normalized cross-correlation imaging condition, rather than the total wave energy used for DIC-based approaches, is efficient and effective for identifying regions of minute surface movement from local resonance within the damage region without the use of the computationally intensive interpolation to get the sub-pixel gray level information followed by subset matching employed in DIC-based image processing. Two geometrically identical CFRP composite honeycomb panels that had been subjected to low-velocity impacts were used for verification and validation, and two excitation location configurations were tested for each panel. Damaged images produced with correlation for a 100 mm × 100 mm field of view using a single 3-s video, or a total of 19,200 video frames, show accurate damage imaging capabilities regardless of excitation location that exceed that of DIC techniques and is comparable to benchmark damage images obtained from laser Doppler vibrometry, ultrasonic C-scans, and X-ray CT scans. This success of correlation-based imaging of subsurface BVID demonstrates substantial improvements in efficiency and practicality and shows high potential for in situ and real-time computer vision-based nondestructive inspection or structural health monitoring of subsurface BVID in composite aircraft and other critical structures.

Study on the Stability of Accumulation Using a Slope Shaking Table Test during Earthquake Action

To examine the effects of different peak accelerations on the stability of the accumulation slope and the effectiveness of anti-slide piles under seismic loads, this paper used the Fanlingqian landslide as the main research object and combined it with digital image correlation (DIC) technology in order to carry out a shaking table test. Then, the acceleration response, displacement field, strain field, the bending moment distribution of the 0.05–0.3 g ground motion accumulation slope, and the anti-slide pile reinforcement were studied. The results of the test show the following: the amplification coefficient of the measuring points A1–A6 of the accumulation slope reaches the maximum at a peak acceleration of 0.2 g, and its values are between 1.25 and 1.3, respectively. Finally, it shows a decreasing trend at a peak acceleration of 0.3 g, and its corresponding values are, respectively, between 1.1 and 1.2. In the anti-slip pile reinforcement test, due to the obstruction of the anti-slip pile, the damping of the soil around the pile increases. As the peak value of the seismic wave input increases, the amplification factor shows an overall decreasing trend. A1–A6 correspond to a peak acceleration of 0.3 g. The amplification factors are all close to 1. During different peak accelerations, the accumulation slope mainly experienced the earthquake-induced stage, tensile failure stage, creeping deformation stage, and overall instability stage. In the anti-slide pile reinforcement test, under the same conditions, the slope mainly experienced the earthquake-induced stage, tensile failure stage, lower sliding surface formation stage, and soil shedding stage in front of the pile. At the same time, the displacement and strain fields of each stage of the two groups of tests are compared, and it is found that the displacement and strain values of the accumulation slope test are greater than those of the anti-slide pile reinforcement test, and the horizontal displacement difference at the top of the slope is the most significant, reaching 2.3 times at the maximum. The bending moment of the anti-slide pile first increases and then decreases with the increase in acceleration, the reverse bending point of the pile appears at 5 times the pile diameter below the soil surface, and the maximum bending moment of the middle pile, corresponding to a peak acceleration of 0.05–0.3 g, is between 7.5 N·m and 47 N·m, respectively, while the maximum bending moment of the outer pile is between 6.5 N·m and 52 N·m, respectively. It is important to apply DIC image processing technology to the monitoring of landslide structure and the evaluation of slope stability in practical engineering.

Analyzing the impact of veneer layup direction and heat treatment on plywood strain distribution during bending load by digital image correlation (DIC) technique

In this study, radiata pine veneers and phenol-formaldehyde resin were used to prepare specimens of 5-ply plywood with different layup directions and heat treatments of veneers. The physical and flexural properties of the plywood specimens were assessed, and digital image correlation (DIC) analysis was employed to determine the strain distribution of the plywood under bending loads. The results of the static mechanical strength and DIC tests showed that the plywood with a small-angle veneer layup ([0]5 and [0,22.5,0,22.5,0]) exhibited a better longitudinal modulus of rupture (MOR//), while [0,45,0,45,0] plywood showed the least bending strength and most strain. Moreover, the results revealed that for plywood composed of veneers that were fully heat treated at 200 °C (5T200), the moisture content was efficiently decreased, and the modulus of elasticity parallel to grain (MOE//) was the highest. The DIC images indicated that the largest strain along the x-direction (εxx) was concentrated on the tensile side of untreated plywood (5N) and on the opposite side of plywood composed of heat-treated veneers, except for the plywood composed of veneers treated at 220 °C (5T220). Of these, 5T200 plywood showed the least strain. In addition, the plywood with 200 °C heat-treated veneers instead of face and core layers (NTNTN200) or crossband layers of untreated veneers (TNTNT200) had larger strain values than 5N and 5T200 plywood specimens, with NTNTN200 plywood having the greatest strain. According to the above results, appropriate layering and heat treatment of veneers can effectively improve the dimensional stability and flexural properties of plywood.

Plane–strain condition in plane–strain grooved tensile (PSGT) specimens during traction and creep loading at room and high temperature

AbstractISO 23228:2011 proposed a testing method in which the plastic material, experimental resins or compounds for pipes and fittings, can be exposed to stress conditions that mimic internally pressurised end‐capped pipes. The stress conditions are mimicked by the use of a plaque specimen having a grooved reduced section called plane–strain grooved tensile (PSGT) specimens producing a biaxial state of stress under uniaxial loading. In this study, PSGT specimens were cut out from high‐density polyethylene (HDPE) pipes. Two shape ratios, ratio between the width and the groove thickness, were used. Both the axial and transverse displacements and strain fields were followed by a digital image correlation (DIC) camera during tensile and creep loading, both at room and high temperature; furthermore, DIC images were used to estimate the notch opening displacement. The increasing effect of the temperature in both the axial and transverse displacement and strain was highlighted. No significant effect of the width was noticed. The results have evidenced that, as the plane–strain condition in the width is assured during the tests, PSGT specimens can be used to mimic internally pressurised pipes under monotonic increasing or constant‐in‐time loading at both room and high temperature, but it must be better to use specimens with a higher shape ratio, that is, higher width. The results contribute to the 9th Sustainable Development Goal: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure by promoting a sustainable industrialisation and fostering innovation.

Assessment of foraminal decompression following discoplasty using a combination of ex vivo testing and numerical tools

Percutaneous Cement Discoplasty (PCD) is a minimally invasive surgical technique to treat degenerated intervertebral discs. When the disc is severely degenerated, the vacuum observed in place of the nucleus pulposus can be filled with bone cement to restore the disc height, open the foramen space, and relieve pain. This study aimed to evaluate the foramen geometry change due to PCD, in the loaded spine. Cadaveric spines (n = 25) were tested in flexion and extension while Digital Image Correlation (DIC) measured displacements and deformations. Tests were performed on simulated pre-operative condition (nucleotomy) and after PCD. Registering DIC images and the 3D specimen geometry from CT scans, a 3D model of the specimens aligned in the experimental pose was obtained for nucleotomy and PCD. Foramen space volume was geometrically measured for both conditions. The volume of cement injected was measured to explore correlation with the change of foramen space. PCD induced a significant overall foraminal decompression in both flexion (foramen space increased by 835 ± 1289 mm3, p = 0.001) and extension (1205 ± 1106 mm3, p < 0.001), confirming that the expected improvements of PCD show also during spine motion. Furthermore, in extension when the foramen is the most challenged, the impact of PCD on the foramen correlated with the injected cement volume.

EVALUATING THE ACCURACY OF A DIGITAL CORRELATION SYSTEM TO PREDICT THE FATIGUE FAILURE OF ADDITIVELY MANUFACTURED PARTS

Internal defects that occur during the additive manufacturing process of direct metal laser sintering can have a significant influence on the fatigue performance of Ti-6Al-4V additively manufactured parts compared with parts that are made using traditional manufacturing methods. For the adoption of additively manufactured parts in the medical, automotive, and aerospace industries, the expected fatigue life of parts must be predictable and repeatable for successful application. Micro-CT scanning is commonly used to provide insight into the expected fatigue life of parts by examining internal defects that have occurred during melting. However, using a micro-CT for every part in the supply chain is not always feasible, so alternatives must be considered. One approach would be to analyse parts by applying a short-run fatigue test coupled with a digital image correlation (DIC) system to detect areas on parts where excessive distortion is taking place. This study investigated the level of accuracy that a DIC system could obtain as an alternative non-destructive test to predict where and when a test specimen would fail. To determine whether this alternative was viable, tests were carried out until the specimens failed. The DIC images were analysed at 50% of the fatigue life and at the point just before failure to determine whether the DIC system accurately indicated the strain concentration at the same point where the specimens failed. Experimental data from the study shows that the DIC system could accurately predict the point of failure at the fatigue half-life in only 10% of the test specimens that were investigated. The DIC system was able accurately to predict the point of failure right before failure occurred in only 25% of the test specimens that were investigated.

Improvement of crack tip position estimation in DIC images by image processing methods

The study presents and compares an application of two procedures to identify the crack tip location in PVC Sent samples under a uniaxial tensile test based on the image processing method. An IDS camera captures several photos of the PVC surface as part of the image analysis procedure. All relevant data on crack initiation and propagation is collected and assessed using ImageJ software using image processing methods for detecting cracks. However, the second procedure involves a developed algorithm detecting the discontinuity using digital image correlation (DIC) measurement. Although, because of the experimental conditions, the acquisition of images by the digital camera is never perfect. This noise comes from several sources, including the digital camera, image distortion due to lens magnification or lens angle, the shape and size of the pattern, and electronic noise; ... This article discusses image enhancement methods to overcome these objectionable characteristics using and comparing several filters: Gaussian, median, and Unsharp Mask filters. The performance of the Gaussian filter is better than the Median and Unsharp mask filters. This research demonstrates that DIC is an effective technique for monitoring deformation and understanding the failure mechanism with the best-suited filter.

Acoustic emission monitoring for necking in sheet metal forming

There is extensive evidence in the literature that plastic deformation of metals is associated with an increase in Acoustic Emission (AE) activity. Thus, AE measurement techniques have the potential to monitor a forming process in real time and provide a signal for feedback control, to exploit optimum formability. In this work, custom-made AE sensors employing piezoelectric crystals are implemented to measure the emitted acoustic signal during uniaxial tension and cup drawing tests of an AA6013-T4 aluminum sheet (1.5 mm thick). The uniaxial tension tests are conducted with two AE sensors clamped to each end of the specimen gage section, along with full-field surface strain measurement using Digital Image Correlation (DIC) techniques. The AE signals along with the interrogation of the DIC images reveal that the maximum AE amplitude corresponds to the onset of diffuse necking, i.e., when the strain field starts to become spatially inhomogeneous. Interestingly, this onset occurs before the maximum force is attained. Comparing these observations to a model of dislocation activity supports the notion that dislocation is the main driver of AE activity. With these findings, AE measurements are performed in a cup drawing process where a custom-made Marciniak-type punch incorporates three AE sensors. These sensors are used to triangulate and determine the location of necking and eminent fracture based on the time difference of arriving signals to each sensor. The results from the cup drawing tests show that AE signals can identify the onset of necking and accurately predict the location of necking and fracture.

The Effect of Bit Depth on High-Temperature Digital Image Correlation Measurements

Digital Image Correlation (DIC) is a camera-based method of measuring displacement and strain. High-temperature DIC is challenging due to light emitted from the sample which can saturate the image. This effect can be mitigated using optical bandpass filters, but the maximum sample temperature range of DIC remains dependent on the camera and camera settings. Among camera settings, bit depth, also referred to as color depth or number of bits, has received insufficient attention in high-temperature DIC literature. In this work, the effect of bit depth on DIC measurements is investigated both analytically and experimentally. It is shown that if image noise is sufficiently low, then increasing bit depth reduces DIC random error. A new metric, the effective number of bits, is presented to determine the appropriate number of bits for DIC images. Using increased bit depth, reduced exposure time, and low-noise images, the maximum sample temperature for DIC measurements was shown to increase without negatively impacting random error.

Percolation Threshold and Depression in Properties of Polymer Nanocomposites

Percolation threshold is an important phenomenon to be addressed when producing nanocomposites, especially because the literature suggests a depression of properties near this region. In this study, epoxy matrix nanocomposites were produced with different volume fractions of multi-walled carbon nanotubes and were characterized according to their electrical, thermal, and mechanical properties. In addition, digital image correlation (DIC) was used to measure the strain of nanocomposites and to show how it behaves in different percolation states. Electrical conductivity indicated a percolation threshold near 0.22% v/v of nanoparticles. Differential scanning calorimetry analysis showed a depression followed by an increase in glass transition temperature near the percolation threshold. Tensile strength tests presented a depression followed by an increasing near percolation threshold. DIC images showed that nanocomposites present a different behavior when near the percolation threshold, with a more distributed strain over the surface of the sample under stress and fracture toughness decreased near the percolation threshold.

Tensile Creep of Cement and Concrete Composites: Monitoring by Means of 2D-Digital Image Correlation

Creep and shrinkage of Cement and Concrete Composites (CCC) are significant properties that need to be considered to use these materials in practice. Many previous scientific studies revealed CCC creep characteristics under sustained compression and shrinkage, using traditional test methods from design standards. Because of the complexity of experimental procedures, CCC creep in tension has not been studied as close. Furthermore, there is no unified standard that proposes applicable testing methods or specific testing apparatus. This study examines the suitability of 2D—Digital Image Correlation (DIC) to observe the creep deformations of specimens under tension. Ordinary Portland cement (OPC) mortar with 1% polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fibres has been investigated in the research. Compact tension (CT) specimens 150 × 150 × 12 mm (with a notch) were used. Creep deformations under sustained uniaxial tension (applied loading corresponding to 60% of the ultimate strength) were measured. DIC images were captured using an entry/mid-level DSLR camera. Results show that DIC is suitable for studying uniaxial tensile creep of cement and concrete composites. Deformation of specimens in tension was similar to that measured using the conventional method (using surface-attached gauges).

이미지 보정을 이용한 제한된 환경에서의 디지털 이미지 상관법

Digital Image Correlation (DIC) is a new method of measuring material properties. DIC requires a fixed camera and a separate instrument to acquire images. The measurement position and orientation for the DIC measurement of a workpiece are severely constrained. Therefore, additional devices are required. In this study, only a marker with a grid pattern was attached, and a photograph of a specimen surface was captured without additional equipment. Specimen images were moved and tilted because the camera would shake during the experiment and the camera and specimen were not parallel. The acquired specimen images might be shifted or deformed. Sample images were acquired form various angles and then calibrated with perspective transformation by a developed algorithm and software. Surface strain (or deformation) field data were obtained using the calibrated specimen images and DIC. Therefore, the developed algorithm was verified by comparing the strain field data of the corrected DIC images.

Mechanical and Acoustic Responses of Brittle Geomaterials with a Hole under a Compressive Disturbance

The objective of this article was to investigate the acoustic emission (AE) precursor information and crack propagation mechanism of brittle granite specimens containing a hole under uniaxial compression using AE and digital image correlation (DIC) techniques. The results show that the existence of the opening in the specimen leads to the degradation of the mechanical properties, and the stress‐strain curve exhibits several stress drops. Each deformation stage of rock had different AE characteristics, so AE signals can be used to characterize the microscopic damage evolution of rock and predict the macroscopic failure process of the surrounding rock of the opening. The deformation field evolution process of the specimen containing an opening gradually develops from a uniform distribution to prominent local deformation, and the deformation of the local area near the opening is greater than that of other areas. The initiation of cracks begins around the opening, and the propagation of tensile cracks around the opening is primarily influenced by the nucleation and propagation in the strain localization area. The crack propagation evolution derived from DIC images can be combined with AE monitoring to accurately reveal the deformation and failure mechanism of the intact specimen containing an opening.

Experimental investigation on the flexural behavior of hybrid steel-PVA fiber reinforced concrete containing fly ash and slag powder

A series of four-point bending tests has been performed to investigate the flexural behavior of hybrid steel-PVA fiber reinforced concrete containing slag powder and fly ash. Three hybrid ratios (1:3, 1:1, 3:1) and five total fiber volume contents (1.0%, 1.5%, 2.0%, 2.5%, 3.0%) are highlighted in this work. In addition, Digital Image Correlation (DIC) measurement is used to capture the detailed formation and propagation of cracks during the loading process. The results indicate that Hybrid Fiber Reinforced Concrete (HFRC) has a higher bending strength than the plain concrete. Increasing the steel fiber volume content can improve the bending strength whereas adding more PVA fiber has a bad impact on the bending strength. However, during the post-peak stage, both the steel fiber and PVA fiber could enhance the flexural behavior (e.g., the bending stress and toughness) of HFRC. Furthermore, the toughness corresponding to L/100 is more suitable to evaluate the contribution of PVA fiber. Combining DIC results and images taken during the whole loading process, it is found that the introduce of PVA fiber would cause multiple small cracks, which leads to a higher crack resistance and a better load carrying capacity during the post-peak stage. The steel fibers work as bridges among macrocracks, resulting in the improvement of the bending strength and the toughness of HFRC.

Material response, localization, and failure of an aluminum alloy under combined shear and tension: Part I experiments

This two-part series of papers presents complementary experiments and analyses of ductile failure of an aluminum alloy in the challenging regime of moderate to low stress triaxiality. Part I uses a custom tension-torsion experimental setup to establish the response and the onset of failure under proportional and non-proportional stress histories that form the basis for the numerical simulations in Part II. The test section of the adopted tubular specimen allows large localized strains to develop unimpeded, which were captured using high-resolution digital image correlation (DIC). The measured failure strains exhibit a monotonic decrease as triaxiality increases, similar to the results of Scales et al. (2016). A difference is that the present failure strains are calculated by integrating the work-compatible equivalent plastic strain increments over the loading history, which necessitates the use of a constitutive model. It is shown that for triaxialities greater than 0.2 the integrated failure strains are very close to the values measured directly from the last DIC image. Furthermore, the choice of constitutive model does not significantly affect the measured strains. For the four corner-path experiments, the state of stress and equivalent strain at failure were found to be close to the values of the corresponding radial paths.Microscopic evaluations indicated that the material exhibited limited void growth until just prior to rupture. Part II of this series investigates the extent to which properly-calibrated plasticity models can reproduce the high strains in the localized zones.

A high magnification UV lens for high temperature optical strain measurements.

Digital Image Correlation (DIC) measures full-field strains by tracking displacements of a specimen using images taken before and after deformation. At high temperatures, materials emit light in the form of blackbody radiation, which can interfere with DIC images. To screen out that light, DIC has been recently adapted by using ultraviolet (UV) range cameras, lenses, and filters. Before now, UV-DIC had been demonstrated at the centimeter scale using commercially available UV lenses and filters. Commercial high-magnification lenses using visible light have also been used for DIC. However, there is currently no commercially available high-magnification lens that will allow images to be taken (a) in the UV range, (b) at a submillimeter scale, and (c) from a relatively long working distance separating a specimen inside a test chamber and a camera outside the chamber. In this work, a custom UV high-magnification lens is demonstrated to perform high-magnification, high-temperature DIC measurements. To demonstrate the capabilities of this lens, a series of thermo-mechanical tests was run on a stainless-steel ring specimen. Two UV cameras performed simultaneous measurements: one at lower magnification using a commercial UV lens, and one with the custom high-magnification UV lens. At room temperature, the custom lens produces sufficiently bright images to perform DIC, while at high temperature (demonstrated to 900 °C) the images retained sufficient contrast while avoiding oversaturation. The lens can detect submillimeter rigid motion and tensile strains from long working distances and high magnification. These tests show that the custom lens is suitable for use in high-magnification UV-DIC measurements.

Estimation and compensation of motion blur for the reduction of uncertainty in DIC measurements of flexible bodies

Digital image correlation (DIC) is a useful technique to measure displacement/strain fields both for static and dynamic problems in experimental mechanics. When monitoring moving objects with digital cameras, motion blur may occur if the shutter time reaches the time scale of the motion of the measurand. Consequently, motion blur is one of the most relevant problems in those dynamic DIC applications where shutter time cannot be set arbitrarily. This work deals with the problem of compensating motion blur effects on a generic DIC image. The problem of motion blur compensation to reduce DIC uncertainty is discussed in literature in the case of rigid target, where the amount of motion blur is the same for the whole image area. Deformable targets, instead, pose the additional problem when motion blur is variable within a single frame. In this paper a subset-based technique is proposed to estimate and compensate the motion blur for each image region. The approach is tested on synthetically deformed and blurred images of a notched beam specimen.