Exciting Non-Destructive Testing

Imagine checking for cracks in a gear without taking machinery apart, or checking the adhesive bonding on a Ford F-150 as it rolls off the assembly line. New technology can determine material defects through the use of infrared cameras and ultrasound excited thermography. This non-destructive testing (NDT) / non-destructive examination (NDE) technology operates on the interaction of thermal and elastic waves. Used in assembly lines or machinery inspections, elastic and thermal waves generate heat in material defects that are detected by infrared cameras, exposing defects caused by cracks, delaminations, poor bonding, or other material weakness. Is this new method of finding mechanical hysteresis in materials in your future?