Let Defects "Explode"! Thermal Imaging Cameras Easily "See Through" Carbon Fiber Sheets at 1,000°C

At the forefront of materials science, carbon fiber materials have attracted the attention of countless researchers with their excellent performance. It is lighter than aluminum, but its strength is higher than that of steel. It has good electrical and thermal conductivity, corrosion resistance, fatigue resistance, and so on. Carbon fiber materials have been widely used in various fields of national defense, military industry, and civilian industry.

With the development of carbon fiber technology, its product variety is increasing. The layered and non-uniform microstructure of carbon fiber causes various defects such as gaps and breaks during production and use. R&D personnel need to test the strength or structure of carbon fiber materials to determine whether they meet requirements and standards.

01 Project Background 

      In Xi'an, a university's school of aeronautics hopes to use infrared thermal imaging cameras to check whether carbon fiber sheets have defects such as hollowing and breaking, so as to help improve R&D efficiency.

02 User's Pain Points

➤ Difficulty in meeting the picture accuracy

During the test, it is necessary to check whether there are tiny cracks or hollows in the carbon fiber sheet. This requires high image quality and clarity of the inspection equipment so that the tester can observe the defect location. Regular infrared thermal imaging cameras fail to meet the image quality requirements.

➤ Difficulty in locating defects

The entire carbon fiber sheet surface, such as the four corners and the center, may be broken or hollowed. Not only does it require non-contact detection, but also to locate the defect while ensuring efficient detection, it is necessary to detect specific areas of the sheet surface to ensure temperature analysis of key areas of the carbon fiber sheet.

03 Solution

Internal Gap of Carbon Fiber Sheet Under Lens of Infrared Thermal Imaging Camera

The School uses a laser with a temperature of more than 1,000°C to hit the carbon fiber sheet. The excellent thermal conductivity of the carbon fiber sheet allows heat to spread quickly on the sheet surface, and then the user observes the infrared image of the carbon fiber sheet through the flagship infrared thermal imaging camera PT870, which can clearly identify problems such as fiber bundle breakage and resin gaps.

04 Project Value

➤ High-definition image with clear details

The infrared detector has a resolution of 1280×1024, and more than one million pixels clearly present the details on the surface of the carbon fiber sheet.

➤ Accurate temperature measurement and sensitive sensing

The high-sensitivity infrared detectors have a temperature measurement range of up to -40°C–2,500°C, and can easily detect subtle temperature changes.

➤ Comprehensive inspection and defect location

The entire surface of the carbon fiber sheet is photographed and inspected. Through the large screen of the infrared thermal imaging camera, it is convenient for users to quickly locate the defect and improve test efficiency.

➤ Analysis software and data collation

Professional temperature curve analysis on the pictures and videos taken is conducted to intuitively display the temperature trend changes, and generate analysis reports to assist in optimizing product design.

05 Product Recommendation

Infrared thermal imaging technology is widely used in non-destructive testing of carbon fiber materials and various coating composite structures due to its outstanding advantages such as high contrast, non-contact temperature measurement imaging, and non-destructiveness. The PT Series Flagship infrared thermal imaging camera is the world's first megapixel portable thermography camera. With its maximum of one million pixels, advanced focusing technology, ultra-large temperature measurement range and ultra-high temperature measurement accuracy, modular design, and more than 20 patented technologies, it has led the development trend in the field of infrared thermal imaging cameras and become a new benchmark in the industry.