Thermal wave imaging techniques for inspection of plywood materials

Abstract

Infrared non-destructive testing and evaluation (IRNDT&E) is an emerging approach for materials characterization due to its capability to test wide variety of solid materials such as metals, composites and semiconductors of industrial interest. Further it supports thorough inspection and evaluation by its unique remote and fast and whole field testing capabilities. Wood is one of the most commonly used house hold building material it has both structural and decorative applications. It is used both in natural and processed form like ply wood, veneer, ply-board etc. Defects like knots, worm track, delaminations, glue smear etc. influences its in-service capabilities. Even though various non-destructive methods such as optical, ultrasonic and radiography are commonly used to inspect wooden materials, infrared imaging has its own advantage due to its safe, whole field inspection capabilities. This paper describes the applicability of the transient thermal wave imaging (TWI) method for inspection of ply wood. This paper highlights applicability of transient pulsed thermal imaging approach for finding out the hidden defects. Capability of the proposed method and its defect detection capabilities have been highlighted through experimental results.