An Automated Practical Flaw-Identification Algorithm for Active Thermal Testing Procedures

Results of analyzing the infrared thermograms of flawed carbon-, glass-fiber reinforced composites steel, and aluminum samples obtained in active thermal-testing procedures are described. The reproducibility of the results of testing conducted by thermography operators using manual and automated image-processing procedures has been evaluated. The advantage of an automated thermogram-analysis algorithm that halves the spread in informative parameters over manual data processing has been demonstrated.