Acquisition of EchoTherm System for Nondestructive Evaluation

Primus V. Mtenga博士及其在佛罗里达A M大学-佛罗里达州立大学工程学院（FAMU-FSU CoE）的同事获得了一笔赠款，用于在基础设施状况评估和其他应用中进行无损评估（NDE）。混凝土结构开裂、钢结构腐蚀、材料生产异常等基础设施缺陷使得使用无损检测技术进行状态评估成为非常重要的研究和发展领域。 这些无损检测技术包括视觉技术，超声波技术，X射线技术，现在越来越热成像技术。超声波和X射线技术都需要在待评估的部件或结构上附着探头或薄膜。将设备附接到待检查的位置是耗时的，并且可能导致一些不便，诸如设施长时间关闭。 另一方面，红外热成像技术（IRT）的所有特点，提供了一个有效的和经济的方法，无损检测。 这些特性包括测量远距离表面温度的能力和一次覆盖大面积的能力。这些特性使得该技术在桥梁状况评估等情况下非常有用，这些情况下对旅行公众的不便最小化是可取的。即将收购的EchoTherm系统将补充FAMU-FSU CoE现有的IRT能力。EchoTherm系统允许受控的热脉冲应用，从而提供精确监测热衰减的能力，这反过来又允许确定异常的大小及其深度位置。 该系统的可用性将提高现有IRT设施的生产力，并提高FAMU-FSU在基础设施状况评估领域的竞争力。预计从佛罗里达交通部的资金，对纤维增强聚合物改造的质量控制的研究将是所要求的设备的处女项目。佛罗里达A M大学，历史上的黑人大学，是少数民族和女性工程毕业生的领先生产者。 所要求的Echo-Therm系统，由现有的红外摄像机增强，将为现有的不同的本科生和研究生提供NDE曝光，从而将代表性不足的群体带到状况评估领域。

A grant has been awarded to Dr. Primus V. Mtenga and colleagues at Florida A&M University - Florida State University College of Engineering (FAMU-FSU CoE) to acquire an EchoTherm System for nondestructive evaluation (NDE) in infrastructure condition assessment and other applications. Infrastructure deficiencies such as cracking in concrete structures, corrosion in steel structures, production anomalies in materials have made condition assessment using NDE techniques a very important area of research and development . These NDE techniques include visual techniques, ultrasonic based techniques, x-ray techniques, and now increasingly thermographic techniques. Both ultrasonic and x-ray techniques require the attachment of probes or film on the component or structure to be evaluated. The attachment of devices to the location to be inspected is time consuming and may cause some inconveniences such as closure of a facility for extended periods. On the other hand, Infrared thermography (IRT) techniques have all the characteristics of providing an efficient and economical method for NDE. These characteristics include the ability of measuring surface temperature at a distance and the ability to cover a large area at a time. These characteristics make the technique very useful in situations such as the condition assessment of bridges where minimum inconvenience to the traveling public is desirable.The EchoTherm System to be acquired will complement an existing IRT capability at FAMU-FSU CoE. The EchoTherm system allows controlled heat pulse application, thus providing the ability to monitor heat decay precisely, which in turn allows the determination sizes of anomalies and their location with depth. The availability of the system will enhance the productivity of the existing IRT facility and increase FAMU-FSU CoE competitiveness in the area of infrastructure condition assessment. With anticipated funding from Florida Department of Transportation, studies on quality control of Fiber Reinforced Polymer retrofit will be the maiden project for the requested equipment.The Florida A&M Univerisity, a historically Black University, is a leading producer of minority and female engineering graduates. The requested Echo-Therm System, augmented by the existing IR Camera, will provide NDE exposure to the existing diverse body of undergraduate and graduate students, thus bringing underrepresented groups to the condition assessment field.