Patent — available for licensing
In-situ Characterization and Inspection of Additive Manufacturing Deposits using Transient Infrared Thermography
A NASA invention available to explore as a licensing opportunity.
About this technology
Overview
Researchers at NASA Langley Research Center have developed a much more reliable non-destructive evaluation method based on infrared thermography. The method provides transient temperature profiles of the surface, including the melt pool, at each step/layer. This system can measure material properties and detect defects during the additive manufacturing process. It will allow for characterization of the deposition quality and also detection of deposition defects such as voids, crack, and disbonds as the structure is manufactured layer by layer. The information, in the form of quantitative inspection images, can be archived with the manufactured part to document structural integrity. This is a more effective way of determining flaws or deposition quality during the build process.