Yui Izumi

Development of self-reference lock-in thermography and its application to remote nondestructive inspection of fatigue cracks in steel bridges

A new remote nondestructive evaluation technique, based on thermoelastic temperature measurement by the infrared thermography, was developed for evaluation of fatigue cracks propagated from welded joints in steel bridges. Fatigue cracks were detected from localized thermoelastic temperature change at crack tips due to stress singularity under wheel loading from traffics on the bridge. Self-reference lock-in data processing technique was developed for the improvement of signal-to-noise ratio of the thermal images obtained in the crack detection process. In this paper, experimental results of fatigue crack detection by the self-reference lock-in thermography are reviewed.

Detection of Dentinal Microcracks Using Infrared Thermography

INTRODUCTION It is difficult to make a definite diagnosis of a cracked tooth solely based on an inspection within the root canal, especially in case of microcracks. At present, there seems to be no established method to detect dentinal microcracks in roots; therefore, the current detection techniques need to be improved. Vibrothermography (VibroIR) helps to detect microcracks by the friction heat generated from ultrasonic vibration. The purpose of this study was to establish a novel method using VibroIR to detect dentinal microcracks. METHODS The root canals of 20 roots with cracks and control roots were prepared after removing the tooth crowns. A tapered indenter was inserted into the root canal and pressed until a microcrack was created under an optical microscope. Using VibroIR, the detection trials for dentinal microcracks were performed with an ultrasonic vibration power ranging from 0.43 to 1.48 W at an angle of 0°, 30°, 45°, 60°, and 90° between the ultrasonic vibration point and the microcrack line. After the detection test, the microcrack width was measured with an optical microscope. RESULTS Frictional heat was detected in the microcracks with thermography at 0.89 to 1.48 W and at an ultrasonic vibration point angle less than 60° from the crack line for 10 seconds. Microcracks with a width of 4 to 35.5 μm were detected with this method. CONCLUSIONS VibroIR may be an effective method for the diagnosis of root dentinal microcracks.

Applications of infrared thermography for nondestructive testing of fatigue cracks in steel bridges

In recent years, fatigue crack propagations in aged steel bridge which may lead to catastrophic structural failures have become a serious problem. For large-scale steel structures such as orthotropic steel decks in highway bridges, nondestructive inspection of deteriorations and fatigue damages are indispensable for securing their safety and for estimating their remaining strength. As conventional NDT techniques for steel bridges, visual testing, magnetic particle testing and ultrasonic testing have been commonly employed. However, these techniques are time- and labor- consuming techniques, because special equipment is required for inspection, such as scaffolding or a truck mount aerial work platform. In this paper, a new thermography NDT technique, which is based on temperature gap appeared on the surface of structural members due to thermal insulation effect of the crack, is developed for detection of fatigue cracks. The practicability of the developed technique is demonstrated by the field experiments for highway steel bridges in service. Detectable crack size and factors such as measurement time, season or spatial resolution which influence crack detectability are investigated.

Application of infrared thermography to structural integrity evaluation of steel bridges

A new remote nondestructive evaluation technique based on thermoelastic temperature measurement by infrared thermography was developed for the evaluation of fatigue cracks propagating from welded joints in steel bridges. Fatigue cracks were detected from localized thermoelastic temperature changes at crack tips due to stress singularities generated by wheel loading from traffic on a bridge. A self-reference lock-in data-processing technique was developed to improve the signal-to-noise ratio of the thermal images obtained in the crack detection process. Thermoelastic stress analyses in the vicinity of crack tips were carried out after the crack detection process by self-reference lock-in thermography. The stress distribution under wheel loading by traffic was measured by infrared thermography. Stress intensity factors were directly evaluated from the measured stress distribution. It was found that these fracture mechanics parameters can be evaluated with reasonable accuracy by the proposed technique, enabling the assessment of structural integrity based on the evaluated fracture mechanics parameters.

Successful Application of Thermoelasticity to Remote Inspection of Fatigue Cracks

A new remote nondestructive inspection technique based on thermoelastic temperature measurement by infrared thermography was developed for the detection of fatigue cracks in steel bridges. Fatigue cracks were detected from localized thermoelastic temperature changes at crack tips due to stress singularities generated by wheel loading from traffic on a bridge. Self-reference lock-in data-processing technique and motion compensating technique were developed to improve the thermal images obtained in the crack detection process. Advantages and limitations of the proposed nondestructive evaluation technique were discussed based on results of field experiments for highway bridges. Thermoelastic stress analyses in the vicinity of crack tips were also carried out after the crack detection process by self-reference lock-in thermography. The stress distribution under wheel loading by traffic was measured by infrared thermography. Stress intensity factors were evaluated from measured stress distribution. It was found that these fracture mechanics parameters can be evaluated with reasonable accuracy by the proposed technique, enabling the assessment of structural integrity based on the evaluated fracture mechanics parameters.

Effects of laser heat treatment on mechanical properties of ceramic coated steels Part 1 – Laser irradiation conditions and mechanical properties of ceramic coated steels

Abstract In our previous study, we proposed a new surface modification technique by combination of ceramic coating and laser heat treatment. By applying laser heat treatment after coating, it was possible to improve the adhesive strength and substrate hardness of ceramic coated steels without compromising the film hardness. In the present research, in order to quench a larger area of ceramic coated steel uniformly and efficiently, a high power diode laser equipped with a galvano-scanner was used in the laser heat treatment process. The scanning laser irradiation conditions to achieve uniformly quenched substrates without any surface damage were investigated for three kinds of ceramic coated steels: CrAlN, TiAlN and CrN. The film hardness and adhesive strength of the laser irradiated regions were evaluated. It is shown that scanning laser quenching after coating effectively improved the mechanical properties for larger area of ceramic coated steels.

Effects of laser heat treatment on mechanical properties of ceramic coated steelsPart 2 – Fracture strength of laser heat treated ceramic thin film

Abstract In our previous study, we proposed a new surface modification technique by combination of ceramic coating and laser heat treatment. By applying laser heat treatment after coating, it was possible to improve the adhesive strength and substrate hardness of ceramic coated steels without compromising the film hardness. However, the effects of laser heat treatment on the fracture strength of ceramic thin films were not investigated yet. In the present research, in order to demonstrate further development of this method, the fracture strength of laser irradiated ceramic thin films (CrAlN, TiAlN and CrN) was investigated by sphere indentation testing. To prevent heat induced changes in the substrate hardness, a cemented carbide WC–Co rather than steel was used as substrate material. While the fracture strength of each film decreased significantly through furnace heat treatment, it remained almost unchanged in case of the laser irradiated films. The application of laser heat treatment for the substrate quenching after coating process can effectively prevent the fracture strength loss of ceramic thin film.

Detection of fatigue cracks in steel bridges by self-reference lock-in thermography

A new remote nondestructive inspection technique that is based on thermoelastic temperature measurement by infrared thermography was developed for the evaluation of fatigue cracks propagated from welded joints in steel bridges. Fatigue cracks were detected from localized high thermoelastic temperature changes observed at crack tips induced by stress singularity under variable loading resulting from traffic on the bridge. A self-reference lock-in data processing technique was developed for improving the signal/noise ratio of the thermal images recorded in the crack detection process. In this study, remote and nondestructive detection of fatigue cracks in an actual steel bridge in service was performed by the self-reference lock-in thermography method. The accuracy of this method was improved with a motion compensation technique.

A new approach for evaluating stress intensity factor based on thermoelastic stress analysis

Thermoelastic stress analysis (TSA) using by infrared thermography has been widely used as an effective full-field stress measurement technique. The present authors applied TSA technique to nondestructive evaluation of fatigue cracks in steel bridges, in which fatigue cracks were detected based on singular stress fields observed around crack tips and structural integrity was evaluated based on stress intensity factor calculated from observed near tip stress field. In this paper, a new approach for evaluating stress intensity factor based on TSA technique is proposed. The coefficients including stress intensity factor in the near tip stress field function expressed in higher order terms are determined by the least square fitting using experimentally obtained data by TSA. It was found that values of stress intensity factors K I and K II were obtained in good accuracy.

Effect of Crack Opening on Distribution of Magnetic Flux Density around Fatigue Cracks

In order to identify the mechanisms of changes in the magnetic flux density distribution around fatigue cracks that occur during crack propagation, JIS SCM440 specimens were fatigue tested, and the relation between crack morphology and magnetic flux density distribution was investigated. Two features were observed: a high intensity area around the crack tip, and a low intensity area around the crack root. The low intensity area grew larger for wide open cracks and disappeared when the crack was closed by external force. It was hence found that the magnetic flux density distribution is strongly affected by the crack opening.