Determination of Defect Depth and Size Using Virtual Heat Sources in Pulsed Infrared Thermography

The determination of defect depth and size using Pulsed Infrared Thermography is a critical problem. The problem of defect depth estimation has been previously studied using 1D heat conduction models. Unfortunately, 1D heat conduction based models are generally inadequate in predicting heat flow around defects. In this study, a novel approach based on virtual heat sources is proposed to model heat flow around defects accounting for 2D axisymmetric heat conduction. The proposed approach is used to quantitatively determine the defect depth and size. The validity of the model is established using experiments performed on a stainless steel plate specimen with flat bottom holes at different depths.