Quantitative Photothermal Lock-In Thermography Imaging Of Curved Surfaces Of Cylindrical Solids

We extend the applications of photothermal radiometric diagnostics to continuously curved cylindrical surface solids using lock-in thermography (LIT) imaging, in which both the photothermally induced surface temperature and the angularly dependent infrared radiation emitted by the curved surface are not constant. Specifically, a theoretical photothermal model is established based on the Green Function method from which the thermal-wave field distribution at different azimuthal angles on the curved surface is obtained and characteristics of the thermal-wave field with different material and measurement parameters/schemes are discussed. A laser-infrared photothermal lock-in imaging system for solid cylindrical samples is established, and the thermal diffusivity of AISI 304 cylindrical steel samples is measured directly based on the LIT images combined with empirically obtained infrared radiation angular distributions over the curved surfaces. The experimental results are in excellent agreement with the theory, which provides a fast and non-destructive quantitative tool for thermophysical evaluation of curved surface solids. Published under license by AIP Publishing.