Gustavo E. Galizzi

SPECKLE NOISE REDUCTION IN TELEVISION HOLOGRAPHY FRINGES USING WAVELET THRESHOLDING

Recently, a novel wavelet method to reduce speckle noise in synthetic aperture radar images was presented. The method, based on the thresholding of the wavelet coefficients of the transformed image, is computationally efficient and maintains sharp image features. The application of a similar method is explored to reduce speckle noise in TV holography fringes, which is a very important problem in the quantitative analysis of transient phenomena. Several thresholding approaches are used to test the noise reduction algorithm on computer-simulated fringes and results are assessed through the evaluation of two comparative parameters: the image fidelity and the speckle index. It is shown that the method achieves the highest speckle reduction when speckle grains have the same average size of the image pixels.

Determination of residual stresses using hole drilling and digital speckle pattern interferometry with automated data analysis

A digital speckle pattern interferometry and hole drilling combined system is developed to determine the magnitude of the residual stress in a aluminum thin plate subjected to an uniform uniaxial tensile load. Performing automated fringe analysis, the optical data contained in the speckle interferograms are quickly converted into values of residual stress. The evaluation is carried out through the measurement of the in-plane displacement field generated by the introduction of the small hole. The displacement field is determined from the calculation of the optical phase distribution by means of a phase shifting method. The magnitude of the residual stress is finally evaluated through a least-squares calculation and compared with the stress value applied to the specimen.

Phase measurement in temporal speckle pattern interferometry: comparison between the phase-shifting and the Fourier transform methods

The measurement of dynamic displacements by use of speckle pattern interferometry and temporal phase unwrapping allows for the evaluation of large-object displacement fields without the propagation of spatial unwrapping errors. If a temporal carrier is introduced in one of the beams of the interferometer, phase data for whole-object displacement can be retrieved by use of a temporal phase-shifting method or a temporal Fourier transformation approach. We present a comparison between both methods of temporal phase measurement in terms of precision and execution speed. We performed the analysis by using computer-simulated speckle interferograms, an approach that allowed us to know precisely the original phase distribution and also to determine the spatial rms phase error as a function of the phase change introduced between two consecutive speckle interferograms. The performance of both methods to process experimental data is also illustrated by use of the results from a high-speed speckle interferometry study of a carbon fiber panel.

Evaluation of a preconditioned conjugate-gradient algorithm for weighted least-squares unwrapping of digital speckle-pattern interferometry phase maps

Inasmuch as current fringe analysis techniques used in digital speckle-pattern interferometry (DSPI) yield a phase map modulo 2pi, phase unwrapping is the final step of any data evaluation process. The performance of a recently published algorithm used to unwrap DSPI phase maps is investigated. The algorithm is based on a least-squares minimization technique that is solvable by the discrete cosine transform. When phase inconsistencies are present, they are handled by exclusion of invalid pixels from the unwrapping process through the assignment of zero-valued weights. Then the weighted unwrapping problem is solved in an iterative manner by a preconditioned conjugate-gradient method. The evaluation is carried out with computer-simulated DSPI phase maps, an approach that permits the generation of phase fields without inconsistencies, which are then used to calculate phase deviations as a function of the iteration number. Real data are also used to illustrate the performance of the algorithm.

Unwrapping of digital speckle-pattern interferometry phase maps by use of a minimum L 0 -norm algorithm

The performance of a minimum L(0)-norm unwrapping algorithm is investigated by use of synthetic digital speckle-pattern interferometry (DSPI) wrapped phase maps that simulate experimentally obtained data. This algorithm estimates its own weights to mask inconsistent pixels. Particular features usually included in DSPI wrapped phase distributions, such as shears, speckle noise, fringe cuts, object physical limits, and superimposed phase maps, are analyzed. Some adequate approaches to solving these features are discussed. Finally, it is shown that a complex case in which shears and fringe cuts coexist in the wrapped phase cannot be solved satisfactorily with the minimum L(0)-norm algorithm by itself. To cope with this problem, we propose a new scheme.

Speckle activity images based on the spatial variance of the phase

We propose the display of the local spatial variance of the temporal variations of the phase as an activity descriptor in dynamic speckle images. The spatial autocorrelation of the speckle intensity is calculated in sliding windows, and an estimation of the variance of the phase variations in each region of the sample is determined. The activity images obtained in this way depict some interesting features and in some cases they could be related to physical magnitudes in the samples. A simulation is presented, and examples corresponding to usual study cases are also shown, namely, fruit bruising and paint drying.

Fatigue damage accumulation around a notch using a digital image measurement system

A digital image measurement (DIM) system is used to study the plastic damage accumulation around a notch under conditions of low-cycle fatigue. This system incorporates a contrast correlation method to evaluation the level of plastic damage at each point of the studied area from two images acquired before and after the introduction of fatigue deformation. A compact tension specimen of 304 stainless steel with a notch radius of 1 mm is analyzed during the stages of fatigue crack initiation and growth. The results obtained using this measurement system are compared with those attained by means of a recrytallization technique.

Optical measurement of the plastic zone size in a notched metal specimen subjected to low-cycle fatigue

This paper describes an optical method used for the determination of the plastic zone size generated on the surface of a notched metal specimen under conditions of low-cycle fatigue. The proposed optical method uses white-light scattering generated by plastically induced surface roughness on the specimen polished surface. By digital processing two images of the specimen surface, one recorded before and the other after the generation of the fatigue deformation, it is possible to evaluate the accumulated plastic damage. The plastic zone measured in the crack initiation stage is compared with the results obtained by a recrystallization technique.

Measurement of nanometric displacements by correlating two speckle interferograms

This paper presents a method to measure nanometric displacement fields using digital speckle pattern interferometry, which can be applied when the generated correlation fringes show less than one complete fringe. The method is based on the evaluation of the correlation between the two speckle interferograms generated by both deformation states of the object. The performance of the proposed method is analyzed using computer-simulated speckle interferograms. A comparison with the performance given by a phase-shifting technique is also presented, and the advantages and limitations of the proposed method are discussed. Finally, the performance of the proposed method to process real data is illustrated.

Nondestructive evaluation of the fatigue damage accumulation process around a notch using a digital image measurement system

The fatigue damage accumulation process around a notch is studied using a noncontact digital image measurement system. This system incorporates a contrast correlation method to evaluate the level of plastic damage at each point of the studied area of the specimen from two images acquired before and after the introduction of fatigue deformation. A compact tension specimen of 304 stainless steel with a notch radius of 1 mm is analyzed during the first 1000 cycles of the crack growth stage. During this period, the externally given work not only impels the crack growth and its local plastic zone but also generates plastic damage around the notch. The obtained results are used to explain the behavior of cracks emanating from notches.