Miniaturized contactless sonic IR device for remote non-destructive inspection
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A thermal imaging system for detecting defects in a component, said system comprising:
- at least one electromagnetic acoustic transducer (EMAT) for exciting the component;
a thermal imaging camera for generating thermal images of the component; and
a controller coupled to the EMAT and the camera, said controller directing at least one time varying signal pulse at a predetermined frequency and for a predetermined duration to the EMAT and causing the camera to generate sequential images of the component, said EMAT inducing sound waves in the component, said signal pulse having a substantially constant amplitude, wherein vibrational energy generated by the EMAT causes the defects in the component to heat up and be visible in the images generated by the camera.
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Abstract
A thermal imaging system for detecting cracks and defects in a component. An electromagnetic acoustic transducer (EMAT) is coupled to the component, and introduces pulsed sound signals therein. The sound signals cause the defects to heat up. The IR radiation from the heated pulses is detected by a thermal camera. The amplitude of the pulsed signals are substantially constant, and the frequency of the pulsed signal can be changed within each pulse. A control unit is employed to provide timing and control for the operation of the EMAT and the camera.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A thermal imaging system for detecting defects in a component, said system comprising:
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at least one electromagnetic acoustic transducer (EMAT) for exciting the component;
a thermal imaging camera for generating thermal images of the component; and
a controller coupled to the EMAT and the camera, said controller directing at least one time varying signal pulse at a predetermined frequency and for a predetermined duration to the EMAT and causing the camera to generate sequential images of the component, said EMAT inducing sound waves in the component, said signal pulse having a substantially constant amplitude, wherein vibrational energy generated by the EMAT causes the defects in the component to heat up and be visible in the images generated by the camera. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A defect detection system for detecting defects in a structure, said system comprising:
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at least one EMAT for generating a sound signal in the structure for a predetermined period of time, said sound signal having a predetermined frequency and a substantially constant amplitude;
a camera directed towards the structure and generating images of the structure when the EMAT generates the sound signal; and
a controller coupled to the EMAT and the camera for providing timing signals therebetween, said controller providing at least one time varying signal pulse to energize the EMAT and being responsive to the images from the camera. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method of detecting defects in a structure, said method comprising the steps of:
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coupling at least one electromagnetic acoustic transducer (EMAT) to the structure;
energizing the EMAT with a series of time varying signal pulses, where each pulse has a predetermined frequency and a substantially constant amplitude;
generating sound signals in the structure from energizing the EMAT; and
generating a sequence of thermal images of the structure prior to, during and after the generation of the sound signals. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification