| abstract |
A thermal imaging system (80) for detecting cracks (100) and defects in a component (82). An electro-magnetic acoustic transducer (EMAT) (84) is coupled to the component (82), and introduces pulsed sound signals therein. The sound signals cause the defects (100) to heat up, and IR radiation (98) from the component (82) is detected by a thermal camera. The amplitude of the pulsed signals are substantially constant, and the frequency of the pulsed signal can be changed within each pulse. A control unit is employed to provide timing and control for the operation of the EMAT (84) and the camera. |