Infrared inspection method for actively cooled panels

This paper discusses a new technique for determining the integrity of Actively Cooled Thermal Protection Systems designed for testing in high heat flux environments. These components, which use common as well as leading edge materials, are expensive and time consuming to fabricate. Using commercial thermography systems, a technique has been developed to detect blocked passages that would effect the performance and in many cases the survivability of the components. This not only avoids wasted test time but also provides a new capability for accepting manufactured systems. The technique is applied before, during and after testing as a damage assessment tool. The thermography system consists of a camera, video recorder, and a PC for data processing and viewing. The camera can detect the spatial and temporal distribution of infrared radiation emanating from the surface of a specimen. This information, together with material property data, can be used to calculate and display surface temperature distribution. The images are processed to provide false-color contour plots.