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Novel study on depth resolvability of a pulse compression thermal wave imaging technique for detection of thickness reduction in ship hull material.

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Title: Novel study on depth resolvability of a pulse compression thermal wave imaging technique for detection of thickness reduction in ship hull material.
Authors: Singh, I.1, Arora, V.2, Babu, P.3, Mulaveesala, R.1 mulaveesala@sense.iitd.ac.in
Source: Insight: Non-Destructive Testing & Condition Monitoring. Jan2026, Vol. 68 Issue 1, p31-36. 6p.
Subjects: Pulse compression (Signal processing), Nondestructive testing, High resolution imaging, Thermography, Signal-to-noise ratio, Hulls (Naval architecture)
Abstract: In the field of thermal non-destructive testing and evaluation (NDT&E), active thermography has gained significant popularity due to its ability to enable rapid, remote and wide-area inspection without compromising the structural integrity of materials. Among various active thermographic techniques, digitised frequency-modulated thermal wave imaging (DFMTWI), a pulse compression favourable excitation technique, offers notable advantages in terms of depth resolution and defect detectability. This study presents a proof-of-concept experimental investigation on a hardened steel specimen commonly used in shipbuilding, incorporating a flat-bottomed hole defect. The specimen was thermally excited using a digitised frequency-modulated heat flux. To assess defect detection performance, three distinct statistical post-processing approaches were applied: the frequency-domain phase (FDP), the time-domain phase (TDP) and cross-correlation coefficient (CCC) analysis. Their effectiveness was quantitatively evaluated using the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) as the primary figure of merit. Experimental results show that the CCC yields superior performance, significantly outperforming the TDP and FDP. The findings highlight the enhanced sensitivity and robustness of correlation-based analysis in detecting subsurface anomalies under DFMTWI excitation. This work underscores the potential of advanced signal processing in improving the applicability of thermal wave imaging for high-resolution, non-invasive material inspection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Insight: Non-Destructive Testing & Condition Monitoring is the property of British Institute of Non-Destructive Testing and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Engineering Source
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PubType: Academic Journal
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  Data: Novel study on depth resolvability of a pulse compression thermal wave imaging technique for detection of thickness reduction in ship hull material.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Insight%3A+Non-Destructive+Testing+%26+Condition+Monitoring%22">Insight: Non-Destructive Testing & Condition Monitoring</searchLink>. Jan2026, Vol. 68 Issue 1, p31-36. 6p.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Pulse+compression+%28Signal+processing%29%22">Pulse compression (Signal processing)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Nondestructive+testing%22">Nondestructive testing</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22High+resolution+imaging%22">High resolution imaging</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Thermography%22">Thermography</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Signal-to-noise+ratio%22">Signal-to-noise ratio</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Hulls+%28Naval+architecture%29%22">Hulls (Naval architecture)</searchLink>
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  Data: In the field of thermal non-destructive testing and evaluation (NDT&E), active thermography has gained significant popularity due to its ability to enable rapid, remote and wide-area inspection without compromising the structural integrity of materials. Among various active thermographic techniques, digitised frequency-modulated thermal wave imaging (DFMTWI), a pulse compression favourable excitation technique, offers notable advantages in terms of depth resolution and defect detectability. This study presents a proof-of-concept experimental investigation on a hardened steel specimen commonly used in shipbuilding, incorporating a flat-bottomed hole defect. The specimen was thermally excited using a digitised frequency-modulated heat flux. To assess defect detection performance, three distinct statistical post-processing approaches were applied: the frequency-domain phase (FDP), the time-domain phase (TDP) and cross-correlation coefficient (CCC) analysis. Their effectiveness was quantitatively evaluated using the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) as the primary figure of merit. Experimental results show that the CCC yields superior performance, significantly outperforming the TDP and FDP. The findings highlight the enhanced sensitivity and robustness of correlation-based analysis in detecting subsurface anomalies under DFMTWI excitation. This work underscores the potential of advanced signal processing in improving the applicability of thermal wave imaging for high-resolution, non-invasive material inspection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of Insight: Non-Destructive Testing & Condition Monitoring is the property of British Institute of Non-Destructive Testing and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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        Value: 10.1784/insi.2026.68.1.31
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        Text: English
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        StartPage: 31
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      – SubjectFull: Nondestructive testing
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      – SubjectFull: High resolution imaging
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      – SubjectFull: Thermography
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      – SubjectFull: Signal-to-noise ratio
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      – SubjectFull: Hulls (Naval architecture)
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      – TitleFull: Novel study on depth resolvability of a pulse compression thermal wave imaging technique for detection of thickness reduction in ship hull material.
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              Text: Jan2026
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              Y: 2026
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