c
 

 
Because of high strength to weight ratio, the usage of composite material in load
resisting structure is increasing at rapid rate. A composite material is a combination of two
or more material and thus, the likelihood of having flaws in composite material generally is
higher than that in metal. Consequently, there is a need to monitor the integrity of composite
structure during and after fabrication. Since flaw and damage may develop during service,
non destructive inspections are also required in service.

Shearography is an optical nondestructive testing method that provides fast

information about the inside quality of different materials. Shearography is being extensively
used in production and development within aerospace, space, wind rotor blades, automotive
and materials research areas. Main advantages of shearography are the large area testing
capabilities (up to 1 m² per minute), non-contact properties and its good performance on
honey-comb materials, which is a big challenge for traditional NDT methods.

 c
 

The electronic laser shearography imaging interferometer was pioneered in the early
1980¶s by three researchers, Dr. John Butters at Loughborough University in the UK, Dr. S.
Nakadate in Japan and Dr. Mike Hung at Oakland University in the USA. The author¶s team
at Laser Technology Inc. led the development of the shearography camera as a tool for non-
destructive testing, delivering the world¶s first production shearography NDT system to
Northrop Grumman in 1987 for the manufacturing of the USAF B2 Stealth Bomber.

In the last twenty years more than 1,200 shearography systems have been integrated
into the manufacturing process for aircraft composites, tires and high-reliability electronics.
As with all NDT methods and technologies, shearography¶s strengths and weakness must be
completely understood, and applications qualified through Probability of detection (PoD)
verification with written procedures and rigorous training for operators and engineers alike.
Once qualified, however, shearography systems can operate with extraordinary efficiency
reaching through-puts from 25 to 1200 sq. ft per hour, 2.5 to 120 times the typical 10 sq.
ft./hour inspection rate for ultrasonic C-Scan.

V
V V

V V¢
B t
lt 

 t
ititt
i 

t

 

 ¢t
 
l
it
ti

l


it

2
   

¢
 
 i i
 it  

  i t
 t
 i

  t
t 
i


 it   
il 

  
 ¢

 i
  it



ti
i

 t
 
  t

 it i  
t
 ¢ i i
 
 t
 t
  
i
 

tit
t i
tt i tt
 ili 

 
   

¢
t
ili
t

 it ll
t
l


l
 it 
t¢

t
il tt



t
iit 

tit ill
ll

t


 

 t t
 l

 tt


 

 it



ti i
 i t
 


l
 
  it



ti 

tit
 t
 
t t
 


 tt
 ¢

tt
i
ti

tt
i



t

t
t
tt
 it 
it

t 
i
t
 
t

  tt t
 t
 i
   

 i 
t
 ¢ i


iit
t
tit

 



t
t
li


t i
t

 t
 i
t l

!
 t

i

 t
 





 
tt
 

i
¢
 
itiit
 


t 
lt
t



t
 l
! i 
t

 l t
 
l
t 
 t
l
 li t 
 i
illiti t
 
 
t "## 

t
 i t
 

 $

 l
! i 
% 
t
i

 

 ill


 i
   i

itiitt

ti

t
 
l
t 
ll&#i

l

t  ¢


t ill

 

  i
 tt
 

 li  i
 ' ill(
  i
 ) ll*

)

i


 t
 
 i
 ¢
 iz

 t
 

t i l
! 

tii
 
i
l
t ii
tt
i

c
 
V

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
VV 
V V 
VV

V
V V V V  V 

V V

V 
V V V 
V V
V V 
V V
V V V
V
VV
 
V

V V
V V !V 
V VV

V
VVV
V
VV
" 
VVVV

V V V 
V
VV  
V
#V
V$%&V
 V

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
V'VV 
V VV

]i&+

 i
i


tl

tt


i
i


it

l

tt
¢

t
t

 tt
it

lt

t

t
t

 When a surface area is illuminated with a highly coherent laser light a stochastical
interference patterns is created. This interference pattern is called a speckle and is projected
on a rigid camera's CCD chip. Analogous with ESPI, Electronic speckle pattern
interferometry, to obtain results from the speckle we need to compare it with a known
reference light. Shearography uses the test object itself as the known reference, it shears the
image so a double image is created. The superposition of the two images, a shear image,
represents the surface of the test object at this unloaded state. This makes the method much
more insensible to external vibrations and noise. By applying a small load; heat or vacuum,
the material will deform. A non-uniform material quality will generate a non uniform
movement of the surface of the test object. A new shearing image is recorded at the loaded
state and will be compared with the sheared image before load. If a flaw is present it will be
seen in this result.

Due to the latest development of efficient laser diodes that are suitable for
interferometry, the illumination of the components with laser light is much simpler. A
homogeneous illumination of the measurement area can be reali ed with an array of laser
diodes. Since laser diodes are quite small and easy to handle, maximum practical use is
guaranteed. During measurement, an image of the object which is not under load is recorded
and stored. Then, the object to be measured is put under strain. In this condition, a second
image of the object is recorded and stored. By subtraction of these two images areas of the
object will be clearly visible where the surface is deformed. This can be watched in real time
while the component is put under strain. Faulty areas show a specific deformation pattern in
contrast to areas without defects.

As a means of strain, heat and pressure differences are especially suitable. An object
is put under heat excitation with heating lamps. Even if the surface is only heated up by few
Kelvin, the material deforms in such a way that this can be measured with Shearography.
Faulty parts of a component which lead to an inhomogeneous mechanical stiffness can be
seen in the deformation image as inhomogeneous.

For low-pressure strain, the sample to be measured is placed inside a pressure chamber.
Closed component faults, e.g., faults which are separated air tightly from the surrounding
parts lead to deformations due to pressure difference. Even slight pressure difference in the
range of a few ten millibar is enough to make the faults visible.


ß



 

V V

V
(V

VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV V) VV VV VVVV*V V VV V 

V
+V V VV

VV V
 VV
V
VV V
V V
V

,V

¢
 
t



t 
 it

iti
 it it
li



,/4

l
t ;t
 
iti
i
i



tt 
 t

t 



t


lt
t

 

lti
 i it 
titl
it ¢
i

t

itiit
t




t 
t
  
l*ti
  
  it 

 i 
 i t
 

 ¢ i 
ti 
t
i i
 t t  it t
 




 i  i t
 


 it  
t it
l
it 

tt
i
ti
i
lti



ß 

  c
   c




  c





¢
-¢.*/&##i
t
t l
t
l

 t
 
i

t



tti
 i
ti

 


 

it
 
i tt
  


t ¢

-¢.*/&## tt 
t
t
ll


ti
i
i
tti

*it


lit



t

 ¢
til



i %t
tli
!ll
i
ti

 t


  


 l 
t
l 
 i 
l
 t*
t ¢
 t


t
 t
ti

ti
 it 
il 

 0 %


 M
 t
ti



  i
 t

 ¢
 -¢.*/&## il
 t
 .
ti
 $
 it  ilt*i
iitl 

  
  ¢it C
 it  ll
l
t
i  i
 

i

t
 ilt*i

c

 


V 
l
ti

V -i t
i t
V 1tt 
V ¢
t

V 

t


tt

l
V il
i

l



r
 

V Composite Laminate
V Composite Repairs
V Metal and Composite Honeycomb
V Metal to Metal Bonds

c
 

V 
    (L x W x H)
|V Inspection Head  15 x 12 x 12 inches, 38 x 30 x 30 cm
|V Transit Case 22 x 18 x 16 inches, 56 x 6 x 1 cm
V s
 
|V Inspection Head 10 lbs., .5 kg.
|V Transit Case  25 lbs., 11.3 kg.
V ß
 100 to 2 0 VAC, 50/60 H ., 15 amps max.
V ±

(H x W)  x 6 inches, 10.3 x 15. cm
V  (H x W)  x 6 inches, 10.3 x 15. cm, 1200 x 800
 pixels, 32bit color,
16 inch/ 0cm, 1200 x 800 pixels, 32bit color
V V
 r
 Time Resolved Thermal Shearography Analysis
 and Measurement Image Overlay
V c
c 
Thermal Shear 2.0
V V    Vacuum Window and Generator VW-10
External Hard Drive for Data Transport
( 0GB)


 




i2+¢

l
it
t
 i/+i 


it

i
 

it
 i
l


i3+.t
t
it

it
 i4+M
tl


 
ll
 


 ii

 c
  
¢

til
t*
t

l

iit



t
i
i

i


i
tii
t

iit



t

 il
 

  il
 

 $

 l

 /# 5
tt 

 it  

ii
 
l
t 
/"&i
t



t

it

t*¢
l
li t
illit
 t

j
t t

 

 i  il
 

 i 
 ¢
 i
l tt

 li t

t

j
t
t 
 
litt
ii
tt
l

t
CC

 t
 t
 i
 i  

t

ll l
 t 
l it

 ,2  
 t


 litt
 ¢
 i
 , t  t
 
i i
  t
 
t
 
 

jt
  itit
l

t
i
t
it 
 t
it
t
lt
ll


 

tit




l
 
t
tt
l

t




t
 
ltt 
l
 tt
 ¢
 li t it
it
 t
 
l
 tt
 i 

t
 t
 

l
ti i

 il  t i i 
t
t 
 



 it i l
 t
 i
l 
iitli
¢

l

til
t* 
t

i ti
i
lti
t l







 

 
 
Laser shearography inspection method belongs to optical methods working with laser
beam and is based on concept of optical holography and Electronic Speckle Pattern
Interferometry (ESPI). The specimen tested is put under low strain generated either by
heating, vibrations or by pressure, and a change in surface strain caused by the presence of a
fault in the material is detected by the shearographic camera. The shearing device brings the
light waves from two points on the object surface into one point on the image plane, which
results in an interference phenomenon, i.e. so-called speckle interferogram, without using an
additional reference beam as holography and ESPI does. By comparing interferograms before
and after loading a fringe pattern is produced and displayed in real-time. It can be
recalculated to the gradient of deformation. Defects are typically indicated as µbutterfly
pattern¶. Surface deformations of a few microns can be observed. To improve image quality
as well as defect visibility, the µphase shifting technique¶ is used. The image quality can also
be improved by image post-processing like a noise filtering etc.

Moreover, a rigid-body motion does not produce strain; thus shearography is relative
insensitive to such motion. This is a significant advantage of shearography, which is thus
predetermined for use in a typical industrial environment.

The measurement presented in this paper was performed with the Dantec Ettemeyer
Q-800 portable shearography system with two shearing directions and software package
ISTRA for analysis, visuali ation and storage of the measured data. The heat loading was
used within all measurements.

The shearography images for all selected panels are shown in Fig. 8(a)±(f). These
figures show measured and smoothed phase maps recalculated to deformation gradient.



!

 i


i
l
4it
 it ,i

i
t
it

,#6it

l

l
t
ll


!

 i


i
l
,&it
 it ,i

i
t
it

4#6it

l

l
t
ll


!

 i


i
l
&4it
 it ,i

i
t
it

,#6it

l

l
t
ll


!

 i


i
l
"#it
 it ,i

i
t
it

4#6it

l

l
t
ll


!

 i


i
l
",it
 it ,i

i
t
it

,#6it

l

l
t
ll


!

 i


i
l
""it
 it ,i

i
t
it

4#6it

l

l
t
ll



 ¢



 it 
t
liti
i
l
4 i
t
&/

t
t titi
t
i l
t

t
i
t

t
t 
t
l 

t




it
it


t
l
it
t ti

t
t
l




 it ti

t
l

t
l

t


ti
i
t
il
iti
i l
t

t
i
t



t

t

 


]i7M



t
l 

llt
t



ti
i
t i
t
il
! it t

l
t

il



ti
i
tt 
 
liti
 

!

l
4

¢

iti
iz



t

t

it
il
t 

it
l
l

t

 ¢ i l

l  t

li t
 tt
l tt

 t
 

t 


 it 

iti
  
ti
   
i

 t
 

ti
 i i
i
 

i
5
t
 t
 
 i 
t

 l

t i ll l
 
 t
 


 t
t


ll

  t
 i
tit
 t
 

 
iti

 

ti
 i
 i

tit


ill t
 

 

ti
 i
t t i 7 
 t

l

 t


il

 

ti
 i
t t 
  t
 

 

 
liti
 i t
 
l

4

t
iit
til tt
ltt


¢
 


t

 
l 
 ,&  
l
t
l 

tt
  it i 


 t




 ¢
 it 
t i 
t itii  l
 
 t
 t
 
i t
 


t


ti
 ¢
i l
t  i 
t 4#  
 t i t

 
 i
li

 

ti

i
t
l
tt
ii,#¢ ili
t
it



t


]i,#.
li



ti
i
t¢ ili
t
it



t 
l

,&!

¢




l
&4

t
i
t
&2
it
li
t
il

t
lt
¢ iitil
lt
t
it



tM



 
 i 
l 
 "# 
 it
 

tti

t



t i 
t
&28"# i
l
""i
t&#8&4 ¢


 
t

l

",

l

t
i
t
&4


[


 

  

   
  c
  
¢
i


tit


it
lit
t
ili
ii
¢ i

t


t
t
it
l

 

. t i t


 t
ti t

j
t i it
 it 
t
t

 t



 ¢

t

t
 i
t 

l

 i
 t

 i t

j
t ¢ i t
i 

 i
till it
 t
t

lti

t


i
t

t
 i

t t
il¢

i


it

*
ii
t
t
l
i

t

t
t
ili
i
t
i
i*
tlli ti

t ¢
 

 
 i 
t 
ti
  i t

 

 

 t
 


 
t
it

¢ iit

til

t



.t



t

it
iit



i
t

t ill
t

t
 i t

 i t
 t
il 

 t
 l  t
 l

t ll t
 t

tt
t
l

ti

t

iliti
.t i

lti


 

l

l

t



t
ti
tt
l

ti



¢0%,+

V Ct
iitil

 i


it i
t
t

t

V 5 it .
Riti


      

]i

¢0%&+

V $
ti
t 
 

it
t
il
V i
t
ilt
ll
 !
V 
 it i
tiiti

i

iti



t
t
l
i
 !

V

V ]i

[ 



 
  
   c 

V 0t
i

i



ti
l¢iilt
i
i l

V 

 t
t
lli



i3i



c 
c
   [

V 
t
t

.t
9i


V i

tit

t



i





V V

V
! 


V Easy inspection of large and flat surfaces.

V Simpel setup, no special safety regulations.
V Advanced inspection documentation.
V Constant results, independent from operator.
V Inspection without loading the component.
V Ests parts 3-100 times faster than UT C-Scan.

! 

 
V r
 V  V
V VVVV 

V
V 

 V 




 VV 
V   V   V
V 


 
VV  V
V 
V
V V



VVV  V V
V 

 
VV
V   
 VV  V
V  V V

 

V

 
V   V
 V
VV
V   V
 "V
 
VVr  V
V 

 V
 V
V  V
V V'V   V
V 
V
 V V V
V !V V
V
V  V
V  V
V 
 V V
V 
V
V "
V

V
The non-destructive testing industry is controlled by Inspection Standard Documents &
Codes. Shearography is incorporated in following standard documents+

V NAS 10, 2008 Rev 3

V ASNT SNT-TC-1A, 2006 edition
V ASNT CP-105, 2006 edition
V ASTM E2581 -07, )Standard Practice for Shearography on Polymer Matrix
Composites, Sandwich Core Materials and Filament Wound Pressure Wessel¶s in
Aerospace Applications)