JANUARY 20--Based upon a high-performance focal-plane-array (FPA) camera and digital image-processing software, the ALTAIR Li System from CEDIP Infrared Systems (Croissy-Beaubourg, France; www.cedip-infrared.com) produces high-quality images of stress in materials and structures under dynamic loading conditions. When a structure undergoes cyclic loading, as during fatigue testing, small temperature changes are produced at the material surface. Under adiabatic conditions, there is a linear relationship between temperature variation and localized stress.
The ALTAIR Li System uses an advanced JADE infrared FPA camera to provide noncontact thermal images of the area of the sample under stress at fast frame rates. Using proprietary software, these thermal images are converted into full-field stress images in real time. The ALTAIR Li System has the versatility to provide precise stress testing of structural components under random, transient, or dynamic loading. In applications where there is a large displacement, a novel software feature is available to provide accurate motion compensation.
When used to measure heat dissipation on a structure under dynamic loading, the ALTAIR Li System can also rapidly determine the material's fatigue limit and provide information on the damage mechanism involved. The system's advanced operational capabilities are illustrated with a range of applications examples in a new technical brochure that also provides full technical specifications and an introduction to the ALTAIR Li System.
