Abundio Davila

High-speed dynamic speckle interferometry: phase errors due to intensity, velocity, and speckle decorrelation

The recently developed technique of high-speed phase-shifting speckle interferometry combined with temporal phase unwrapping allows dynamic displacement fields to be measured, even for objects containing global discontinuities such as cracks or boundaries. However, when local speckle averaging is included, small phase errors introduced at each time step are accumulated along the time axis, yielding total phase values that depend strongly on the speckle rereference rate. We present an analysis of the errors introduced in the phase evaluation by three sources: intensity errors, velocity errors, and speckle decorrelation. These errors are analyzed when they act both independently and together, for the most commonly used phase-shifting algorithms, with computer-generated speckle patterns. It is shown that, in a controlled out-of-plane geometry, errors in the unwrapped phase map that are due to speckle decorrelation rise as the time between rereferencing events is increased, whereas those due to intensity and velocity errors are reduced. It is also shown that speckle decorrelation errors are typically more important than the intensity and velocity errors. These results provide guidance as to the optimal speckle rereferencing rate in practical applications of the technique.

Digital processing of electronic speckle pattern interferometry addition fringes

A digital image-processing method for analyzing double-pulsed electronic speckle pattern interferometry addition fringes is described. The procedure consists of three steps, forming a combination particularly suited to addressing some important practical limitations of the measurement system. In the first step it is shown that in certain cases fringe visibility may be enhanced by subtraction of a reference interferogram, so that a pattern with a quality similar to that of a subtraction one is obtained. In the second step noise is reduced by the application of a spectral subtraction image-restoration method. The third step concerns the calculation of the wrapped phase by means of a Fourier transform method with bandpass filtering. Preliminary experimental results that illustrate the performance of this approach are presented.

Transient deformation analysis by a carrier method of pulsed electronic speckle-shearing pattern interferometry

The introduction of a pulsed laser into an electronic speckle-shearing pattern interferometer allows high-speed transient deformations to be measured. We report on a computerized system that permits automatic data reduction by introducing carrier fringes through the translation of a diverging lens. The quantitative determination of the phase map that is due to deformation is carried out by the spatial synchronous detection method. Experimental results obtained for a metal plate transiently deformed by an electromagnetic hammer illustrate the advantages of the proposed system.

Fast electro-optical system for pulsed ESPI carrier fringe generation

Pulsed Electronic Speckle Pattern Interferometry (ESPI) offers the possibility of analysing fast transient phenomena in experimental mechanics. However, due to the short pulse separation required, addition fringes with very low visibility are generated. Several methods have recently been developed to process these data but they all suffer some limitations. This paper presents an electro-optical system based on the use of a Pockels cell which enables the introduction of carrier fringes between the firing of two consecutive laser pulses. This allows calculation of the wrapped phase distribution from a single fringe pattern using the Spatial Synchronous Detection method and enables the laser pulse separation to be significantly reduced. Preliminary experimental measurements performed using a continuous wave laser are used to illustrate the performance of this approach.

Measurement of sub-surface delaminations in carbon fibre composites using high-speed phase-shifted speckle interferometry and temporal phase unwrapping

A high-speed phase-shifted speckle interferometer has been developed recently for studying dynamic events. Speckle interferograms are continuously recorded by a CCD camera operating at 1 kHz with temporal phase shifting carried out by a Pockels cell running at the same frequency. Temporal phase unwrapping through sequences of more than 1000 frames allows the determination of time-varying absolute displacement maps. This paper presents the application of this speckle interferometry system to the detection and measurement of sub-surface delamination defects in carbon fibre specimens. The influence of re-referencing the temporal phase unwrapping algorithm after different time intervals is analysed to reduce the random phase errors produced by speckle decorrelation and vibration. The performance of several phase-shifting algorithms to minimize the influence of the vibration noise caused by the vacuum pump used to load the specimen is also investigated.

An Evaluation of Synthetic Aperture Radar Noise Reduction Techniques for the Smoothing of Electronic Speckle Pattern Interferometry Fringes

Test objects with different surface reflection properties produce local partial decorrelation in electronic speckle pattern interferometry (ESPI) fringe patterns. In addition to this effect, the finite dimensions of the test object and illumination changes due to surface concavities or shadowing may also contribute to undesirable noise. These conditions make the analysis problems of ESPI fringe patterns similar to those encountered in synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images, where local terrain features influence the speckle statistics. This paper presents a brief review of noise reduction techniques commonly used in SAR imaging, some of which are then examined for potential application to ESPI. Computer-simulated and experimental fringe patterns are used to test SAR noise reduction algorithms and results are compared with those obtained by means of a more conventional low-pass Fourier filter.

Scale‐space filter for smoothing electronic speckle pattern interferometry fringes

Processing of correlation fringes obtained from electronic speckle pattern interferometry (ESPI) requires the use of a digital filter to reduce the speckle noise. Even though smoothing algorithms based on the Fourier transform significantly suppress speckle noise, they do not preserve the image characteristics. The application of a scale-space fil- ter to reduce speckle noise in ESPI fringes is reported. Results obtained using both computer-simulated and experimental fringe patterns are used to test the scale-space filter and they are also compared with those obtained by Fourier, convolution, and median filtering.

Simultaneous wavenumber measurement and coherence detection using temporal phase unwrapping

Wavelength scanning interferometry and swept-source optical coherence tomography require accurate measurement of time-varying laser wavenumber changes. We describe here a method based on recording interferograms of multiple wedges to provide simultaneously high wavenumber resolution and immunity to the ambiguities caused by large wavenumber jumps. All the data required to compute a wavenumber shift are provided in a single image, thereby allowing dynamic wavenumber monitoring. In addition, loss of coherence of the laser light is detected automatically. The paper gives details of the analysis algorithms that are based on phase detection by a two-dimensional Fourier transform method followed by temporal phase unwrapping and correction for optical dispersion in the wedges. A simple but robust method to determine the wedge thicknesses, which allows the use of low-cost optical components, is also described. The method is illustrated with experimental data from a Ti:sapphire tunable laser, including independent wavenumber measurements with a commercial wavemeter. A root mean square (rms) difference in measured wavenumber shift between the two of ~4 m⁻¹ has been achieved, equivalent to an rms wavelength shift error of ~0.4 pm.

Optimal re-referencing rate for in-plane dynamic speckle interferometry

We investigate experimentally the optimal rate at which the reference speckle pattern should be updated when dynamic speckle interferometry is used to measure transient in-plane displacement fields. Images are captured with a high-speed camera and phase shifting and phase unwrapping are done temporally. For a wide range of in-plane velocities, up to a maximum of 40% of the Nyquist limit, the random errors in the calculated displacement field are minimized by updating the reference speckle pattern after a speckle displacement of 1/10 of the pixel spacing. The technique is applied to measurements of microscale deformation fields within an adhesive joint in a carbon-fiber epoxy composite.

Extreme shearing interferometry: theoretical limits with practical consequences.

In this work we analyze the frequency response, the spatial distribution and continuity of the recovered phase in Lateral Shearing Interferometry (LSI). This frequency content and topology of the recovered phase is analyzed for the forward LSI operator as well as its inverse LSI operator using one, two, or n two-dimensional sheared interferograms. The spatial frequency response of the shearing interferometer is well known and for the readers convenience, it is briefly revisited in a new perspective. It is however less well-known and more interesting to analyze the spatial distribution of the sheared data as well as the spatial topology of the recovered phase produced by some inverse LSI operators. Also we define a useful space of functions S with the property that any sheared data available, along any direction, may be used to recovered a smooth continuous phase with the bonus property of fully covering the pupil of the wavefront being tested. These combined aspects allow us to find the best possible wave-front reconstruction from the available sheared data using one, two or n sheared interferograms.