Characterization of slanted buried planar heat sources using time domain Infrared Thermography

Abstract

We address the characterization of planar inner defects of any inclination, using infrared thermography (IRT) with any kind of excitation that turns the defect into a heat source (ultrasonic or eddy current). First, we calculate the surface temperature distribution. Then, we present multi-parametric fittings (dimensions, depth and inclination) of noisy synthetic data to characterize the defect. Finally, we prepare 3D printed plastic parallelepiped samples containing graphite and copper slabs that are excited optically and inductively, respectively. The fittings of the data to the model confirm the ability of IRT to characterize planar defects with any inclination.