Development of microscale pattern for digital image correlation up to 1400 °C

Speckle patterns to be used for digital image correlation (DIC) at the micrometer level up to 1400 °C were fabricated by several methods. The quality of the patterns before and after heating was evaluated in terms of the mean intensity gradient (MIG) and the speckle size distribution. The displacement accuracy in simulative translation of images showed that the MIG alone was not enough to evaluate the pattern properties; a large MIG, an even speckle size distribution, and a wide speckle size range pattern were required for a good DIC. The reaction between the patterning material and substrate, the cracking of speckles, and the plastic flow of patterning material may cause changes in the pattern morphology at high temperature. Two patterning methods, spraying a mixture of ceramics powder and binder by a fine-nozzle air brush and abrading a polished surface, yielded a small pattern with high MIG values and even size distributions that was stable at 1400 °C. The potential of the fabricated patterns was shown by measuring the coefficient of thermal expansion of polycrystalline Al₂O₃ from 800 °C to 1400 °C.     

Surface strain-field determination of tympanic membrane using 3D-digital holographic interferometry

In order to increase the understanding of soft tissues mechanical properties, 3D Digital Holographic Interferometry (3D-DHI) was used to quantify the strain-field on a cat tympanic membrane (TM) surface. The experiments were carried out applying a constant sound-stimuli pressure of 90 dB SPL (0.632 Pa) on the TM at 1.2 kHz. The technique allows the accurate acquisition of the micro-displacement data along the x, y and z directions, which is a must for a full characterization of the tissue mechanical behavior under load, and for the calculation of the strain-field in situ. The displacements repeatability in z direction shows a standard deviation of 0.062 µm at 95% confidence level. In order to realize the full 3D characterization correctly the contour of the TM surface was measured employing the optically non-contact two-illumination positions contouring method. The x, y and z displacements combined with the TM contour data allow the evaluation its strain-field by spatially differentiating the u(m,n), v(m,n), and w(m,n) deformation components. The accurate and correct determination of the TM strain-field leads to describing its elasticity, which is an important parameter needed to improve ear biomechanics studies, audition processes and TM mobility in both experimental measurements and theoretical analysis of ear functionality and its modeling.     

Gaussian pre-filtering for uncertainty minimization in digital image correlation using numerically-designed speckle patterns

This paper discusses the effect of pre-processing image blurring on the uncertainty of two-dimensional digital image correlation (DIC) measurements for the specific case of numerically-designed speckle patterns having particles with well-defined and consistent shape, size and spacing. Such patterns are more suitable for large measurement surfaces on large-scale specimens than traditional spray-painted random patterns without well-defined particles. The methodology consists of numerical simulations where Gaussian digital filters with varying standard deviation are applied to a reference speckle pattern. To simplify the pattern application process for large areas and increase contrast to reduce measurement uncertainty, the speckle shape, mean size and on-center spacing were selected to be representative of numerically-designed patterns that can be applied on large surfaces through different techniques (e.g., spray-painting through stencils). Such “designer patterns” are characterized by well-defined regions of non-zero frequency content and non-zero peaks, and are fundamentally different from typical spray-painted patterns whose frequency content exhibits near-zero peaks. The effect of blurring filters is examined for constant, linear, quadratic and cubic displacement fields. Maximum strains between ±250 and ±20,000 µε are simulated, thus covering a relevant range for structural materials subjected to service and ultimate stresses. The robustness of the simulation procedure is verified experimentally using a physical speckle pattern subjected to constant displacements. The stability of the relation between standard deviation of the Gaussian filter and measurement uncertainty is assessed for linear displacement fields at varying image noise levels, subset size, and frequency content of the speckle pattern. It is shown that bias error as well as measurement uncertainty are minimized through Gaussian pre-filtering. This finding does not apply to typical spray-painted patterns without well-defined particles, for which image blurring is only beneficial in reducing bias errors.     

Optical extensometer and elimination of the effect of out-of-plane motions

A novel optical extensometer is developed to estimate the local uniform strain on planar surface accurately. The proposed system consists of a shared large format lens and two image sensors, which acquire pairs of images of two isolated small regions on the object surface simultaneously. Digital image correlation (DIC) algorithm is applied to determine the relative displacement between gauge points designated on recorded pairs of images. Then local strain can be extracted after dividing the relative displacement by the scale distance. Moreover, a special experimental setup called “correction sheet” is used to eliminate the virtual strain induced by out-of-plane motions. Uni-axial tensile experiments are performed to validate the reliability and resolution of the optical extensometer, and the measurement results demonstrate that the resolution of the optical extensometer achieves 2–3 με.     

基于PCI总线的矩阵电路在压变温压补偿系统中的实现与应用

本文提出基于PCI总线驱动控制的矩阵电路在压力变送器温压补偿系统中应用的目的是解决现有压力变送器温压补偿系统中HART总线型工位电路数量少,整套矩阵电路缺失冗余性,以及现有电路在压力变送器产品温压补偿中实用性差、维护成本高的问题。文中阐述的矩阵电路是以PCI总线为基础,实现对PIO数字接口卡的驱动控制,完成由PCI总线上32路数字I/O到168路数字I/O的转换,并利用168路数字I/O进行继电器矩阵电路设计,实现了弱电控制强电的过程,成功有效的解决了现存压力变送器温压补偿系统中矩阵电路存在的问题。该研发成果已经应用于PDS压力变送器产品温压补偿生产线上,并且该电路的设计能够满足压力变送器生产企业的需求,而且整套电路融入系统中能够长期稳定、可靠的运行。     

基于数字图像的土、岩和混凝土内部结构定量分析和力学数值计算的研究进展

土、岩及混凝土是一种内部结构极其复杂的材料,内部细观组成和结构决定了它们在外力作用下内部应力和应变等物理场的分布状态,在很大程度上控制了它们的宏观力学响应和破坏机理和过程。自1995年以来,数字图像处理技术作为一种材料细观空间结构及几何形态的精确量测和数字表述手段快速地被应用于沥青混凝土、水泥混凝土、土和岩体材料细观结构定量分析中来。本文在研究相关文献的基础上,分析和研究了数字图像技术在土、岩及混凝土内部结构定量分析和力学数值计算中的发展过程和研究成果,内容包括:单个骨料颗粒形态特征定量分析;土、岩和混凝土内部结构定量分析;岩体结构定量分析中的应用;基于数字图像处理的土、岩和混凝土细观结构力学计算。在此基础上,本文进一步对数字图像技术在岩土领域中的应用进展及未来的发展趋势进行了探讨,认为数字图像作为一种空间分布测量手段和数字表述方法使得它具有巨大的潜力,特别是在岩土领域的纵深发展过程中,它可能实现考虑细微观结构性的岩土力学和工程分析和预测的、新的方法和理论。     

Statistical Analysis of the Effect of Intensity Pattern Noise on the Displacement Measurement Precision of Digital Image Correlation Using Self-correlated Images

This paper discusses the effect of intensity pattern noise on the displacement measurement precision of digital image correlation (DIC). Through mathematical deduction, a formula is presented to estimate the displacement measurement error caused by intensity pattern noise. The resulting formula synthetically reflects the effects of the variance of noise, the intensity variance and the subset size on the displacement measurement precision. To verify the correctness of the resulting formula, two experiments are done. The first one is a real self-correlation experiment, and aims to analyze the effect of the subset size, while the second is a numerical self-correlation experiment, and is to analyze to the effect of the different noise levels. The experimental results are in good agreement with the theoretical predictions. The project is supported by the National Science Foundation of China (10572103).     

Micro- and Nanoscale Deformation Measurement of Surface and Internal Planes via Digital Image Correlation

The digital image correlation (DIC) technique is successfully applied across multiple length scales through the generation of a suitable speckle pattern at each size scale. For microscale measurements, a random speckle pattern of paint is created with a fine point airbrush. Nanoscale displacement resolution is achieved with a speckle pattern formed by solution deposition of fluorescent silica nanoparticles. When excited, the particles fluoresce and form a speckle pattern that can be imaged with an optical microscope. Displacements are measured on the surface and on an interior plane of transparent polymer samples with the different speckle patterns. Rigid body translation calibrations and uniaxial tension experiments establish a surface displacement resolution of 1 μm over a 5×6 mm scale field of view for the airbrushed samples and 17 nm over a 100×100 μm scale field of view for samples with the fluorescent nanoparticle speckle. To demonstrate the capabilities of the method, we characterize the internal deformation fields generated around silica microspheres embedded in an elastomer under tensile loading. The DIC technique enables measurement of complex deformation fields with nanoscale precision over relatively large areas, making it of particular relevance to materials that possess multiple length scales.     

Local zone wise elastic and plastic properties of electron beam welded Ti–6Al–4V alloy using digital image correlation technique: A comparative study between uniform stress and virtual fields method

Joining of materials using welding results in the formation of material zones with varying microstructure across the weld. Extraction of the mechanical properties of those individual heterogeneous zones are important in designing components and structures comprised of welds. In this study, the zone wise local extraction of the elastic and plastic properties of an electron beam welded Ti–6Al–4V titanium alloy has been carried out using both the uniform stress method (USM) and the virtual fields method (VFM) involving digital image correlation (DIC) technique. The surface strain field obtained using DIC technique from a transverse weld specimen tensile testing is used for extracting the zone wise strain evolution. Initially, using uniform stress assumption, zone wise full range stress–strain curves are extracted. In USM methodology, the elastic and plastic material models are fitted to the zone wise stress–strain curves and required parameters are extracted from it. But inherent disadvantage is lot of images need to be processed for the parameter extraction. Recently, VFM is gaining lot of popularity in characterization domain as it is robust, accurate and faster. VFM is based on the principle of virtual work where, the weak form of local equilibrium equations and kinematically admissible virtual displacement fields are utilized for parameter extraction. Hollomon׳s power law is used here as the hardening rule. Young׳s modulus, Poisson׳s ratio, yield stress, strength coefficient and strain hardening exponent are the parameters extracted zone wise using both USM and VFM. A Vicker׳s microhardness measurement is also conducted across the weld zone towards mapping the strength behavior. Fusion zone has reported higher yield strength, strength coefficient and Poisson׳s ratio. Young׳s modulus value is found decreasing from base metal towards the fusion zone. The trend observed in parameter variation across the weld zone obtained by both USM and VFM compares very well. Due to various advantages associated with VFM technique it is generally recommended for parameter extraction.     

数字全息视频成像技术及其在肝吸虫尾蚴观测中的应用

由于传统的显微镜成像需要精确的光学聚焦过程,很难检测到在水体中运动的肝吸虫尾蚴,更难以对其进行连续的动态观测.针对此问题,提出了利用单光束同轴数字全息视频技术对在水体中运动的肝吸虫尾蚴进行连续动态观测的方法,研究了其中的动态跟踪聚焦算法和视频处理算法.利用上一帧再现像中尾蚴的中心位置作为下一帧全息再现中聚焦窗口的中心位置,使聚焦窗口始终跟随观测的尾蚴移动,从而保证处理全息视频时每一帧再现像都能准确自动聚焦,使再现视频中肝吸虫尾蚴始终处于清晰状态.进行了肝吸虫尾蚴观测实验,得到肝吸虫尾蚴在水体中运动的全息再现视频,并对其运动轨迹进行了跟踪,总结了肝吸虫尾蚴在水体中的运动规律.实验结果表明,利用数字全息技术拍摄一张数字全息图即可观察到水体中不同位置的肝吸虫尾蚴,检测更加方便高效;本文提出的数字全息视频成像技术能实现对水体中的肝吸虫尾蚴或其它浮游生物进行连续动态观测.