Structural Non Destructive Testing & Evaluation

By leveraging material knowledge & properties, the team develops advanced infrared thermography (IRT) and terahertz (THz) techniques to reveal hard-to-detect defects and make the detection easier & inspection more efficient.

Areas of research:

• Transient thermography
• Lock-in thermography
• Flash thermography
• Laser thermography
• Induction thermography
• THz CT broadband imaging
• THz narrowband compact imaging

Capabilities

1. Advanced infrared thermography (IRT) for detection and inspection

Problem statements or industry needs

• New materials (e.g. polymer composites) require the use of new non-destructive testing (NDT) and inspection techniques
  
• Conventional NDT techniques (visual, radiography, ultrasonic, liquid/magnetic penetrants, eddy current) are unable to fulfil the increasing industrial demand:

• Rapid inspection of large components
• Sub-surface or hidden defects detection
• Non-contact, non-invasive technique for moving or dangerous components
• Easy-to-understand results or readout
• Stricter safety requirements on operating environment

Technology Benefits

• Large inspection area (~m2)
• Short inspection time (~sec)
• Non-contact & non-radiative
• Can detect sub-surface defects
• Easy deployment on other technology platforms, e.g. drones & robots

Value proposition

• In-house capabilities in many forms of thermography techniques
• Self-proprietary data & image processing & fusion algorithms
• Whole suite of infrared (IR) techniques & configurations
• Experience working in various industry
• Certified thermographers
  

Applicable industries

• Building & construction
• Marine, offshore, oil & gas
• Aerospace & land transport
• Electronics & semiconductors
• Manufacturing & process control
• Urban sustainability 

2. Advanced terahertz (THz) for detection and inspection

Technology Overview

• Electromagnetic radiation in the frequency range from 0.1 to 10 THz.
• 1 THz = 300 μm = 33 cm-1 = 4.1 meV

Technology Benefits

• Fast instant imaging
• Non-contact & non-radiative
• Can penetrate deeper into materials as compared to VIS and IR
• Sensitive to chemical structure, i.e. fingerprint spectra of materials

Applicable industries

• Aerospace NDT
• Ophthalmology application
• Medicine/Illicit Drugs Identifications
• Food analysis

Highlights / Achievements

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