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The book focuses on infrared thermographic NDT systems and approaches. Both principles and engineering practice are covered, with more emphasis on the engineering practice of spacecraft damage detection and analysis. This is achieved by providing an in-depth study of several major topics such as infrared feature extraction, damage reconstruction, reconstructed image fusion, reconstructed image stitching, reconstructed image segmentation, defect positioning, defect edge detection and quantitative calculation. A number of application cases are discussed in detail, including impact damage to single-layer and multi-layer protective configurations, simple impact damage, and complex multi-type impact damage. The comprehensive and systematic treatment of practical problems in infrared detection and spacecraft damage identification is one of the main features of this book, which is particularly suitable for those interested in learning practical solutions in infrared detection technology. This book can benefit researchers, engineers, and graduate students in the fields of aerospace design and manufacturing, spacecraft environmental engineering, and non-destructive testing technology, etc.

Maximizing reader insights into the use of thermography, specifically pulsed and pulse phase thermography (PT and PPT), for the identification of kissing defects in adhesive bonds, this thesis focuses on the application of PT and PPT for the identification of a range of defect types in a variety of materials to establish the effect of material properties on identification of defects. Featuring analysis of a numerical model developed to simulate the thermal evolution created during a PT or PPT experiment, after validation through a series of case studies, this model is then used as a predictive tool to relate defect detectability to the thermal property contrast between defect and bulk materials. Demonstrating a means of producing realistic kissing defects in bonded joints where insufficient thermal property contrast exists defects have a limited effect on heat propagation through a component and therefore are not detected using PT or PPT, this thesis discusses the addition of a small load to bonds containing kissing defects which was found to open the defects sufficiently to enable their detection. A low cost infrared detector, Flir Tau320, is compared to the research based photon detector, Flir SC5000, and is shown to be suitable for application in PT, thus enabling a significantly lower cost tool to be developed.