Damage detection in two-dimensional plates via infrared thermography

In this paper, we study the use of active infrared thermography combined with topological derivatives for non-destructive testing of two-dimensional plates. In comparison with other remote testing techniques, like ultrasonics, thermography is less intrusive and non-contact. However, on the other hand, heat transport is a short-range phenomenon and the associated signal-to-noise ratio is less favourable. Despite of this, we will show that the topological derivative is a very powerful tool for processing steady and time-harmonic thermograms to detect inclusions and defects in aluminium plates.