AEROSPACE APPLICATIONS OF LOCKIN THERMOGRAPHY WITH OPTICAL, ULTRASONIC AND INDUCTIVE EXCITATION

Abstract

Lockin thermography is a reliable and fast NDE‐technique that is applicable to a broad range of testing problems in aerospace applications. It is robust and sensitive enough to be used in industrial environments. Several different excitation methods based on specific physical mechanisms allow distinguishing between defective and intact material. The paper describes the principle of optically, ultrasonic and eddy‐current excited thermography and presents several applications of these modern NDE techniques for the inspection of typical aerospace structures.