Open Access Conference Proceedings

Active thermography is an advanced experimental procedure, which uses a non-contact measurement of tested materials thermal response after their external excitation. The material can be excited by a direct heating or using thermo-physical effects. Information regarding surface inhomogeneities, defects or material properties can be obtained by an evaluation of the measurement. Thermo-mechanical testing is one of the active thermography methods. It uses a cyclic mechanical loading for the tested material excitation. Material thermal response can differ based on intensity and mechanism of the loading and depending on effects, which can the loading accompany. Results of a thermographic measurement during a mechanical-cyclic tension test are presented and discussed in this contribution. Possibilities, methods and limitations of thermographic measurement during mechanical tests are discussed. A standard fatigue test results and a thermographic fatigue evaluation results were compared. The performed experiments showed that thermo-mechanical effects could be usable for materials fatigue properties evaluation.

Keywords: Thermography, active thermography, material, fatigue, mechanical testing

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