LATERAL HEAT FLOW INFRARED THERMOGRAPHY FOR THICKNESS INDEPENDENT DETERMINATION OF THERMAL DIFFUSIVITY IN CFRP

摘要

In conventional infrared thermography, determination of thermal diffusivity requires thickness information. Recently GE has been experimenting with the use of lateral heat flow to determine thermal diffusivity without thickness information. This work builds on previous work at NASA Langley and Wayne State University but we incorporate thermal time of flight (tof) analysis rather than curve fitting to obtain quantitative information. We have developed appropriate theoretical models and a tof based data analysis framework to experimentally determine all components of thermal diffusivity from the time-temperature measurements. Initial validation was carried out using finite difference simulations. Experimental validation was done using anisotropic carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites. We found that in the CFRP samples used, the in-plane component of diffusivity is about eight times larger than the through-thickness component.