High-Speed Infrared Imaging for Material Characterization in Experimental Mechanic Experiments

Heat transfers are involved in many phenomena such as friction, tensile stress, shear stress and material rupture. Among the challenges encountered during the characterization of such thermal patterns is the need for both high spatial and temporal resolution. Infrared imaging provides information about surface temperature that can be attributed to the stress response of the material and breaking of chemical bounds. In order to illustrate this concept, high-speed infrared sequences were recorded during tensile and shear testing experiments carried out on steel and aluminum samples. Results from split-Hopkinson experiments carried out on a polymer material at high strain-rate are also presented. The results illustrate how high-speed and high-definition infrared imaging in the midwave infrared (MWIR, 3–5 μm) spectral range can provide detailed information about the thermal properties of materials undergoing mechanical testing.