Quantitative Inspection of Coatings Thickness by Time-Power Transformation Flash Pulse Thermographic Method ^†

Thermographic testing is an inspection method, which primary indicates a presence of discontinuities in a tested sample. Its application to coatings can indicate a presence of local thickness variations; however, it mostly does not bring a quantitative information about a thickness of the coatings. This contribution is focused on a quantification of the thermographic inspection, which would make possible an evaluation of coating thickness differences. A flash pulse thermographic testing was applied to thermally sprayed coatings. An importance of a precise synchronization of a flash-source and thermographic recording was determined. Different evaluation methods were analyzed and their comparison showed that a time-power transformation method is the most suitable for a quantification of the inspection results.