3D Full-Field Deformation Measuring Technique Using Digital Image Correlation

Full-field deformation measurements are crucial as it offers detailed information to better understand both micro and macroscopic nature of material behavior. The practice of employing Digital Image Correlation (DIC) based measuring techniques in experiments has increased due to its ability to generate full-field deformation information with minimal effort. Even though DIC systems are commercially available, the affordability of those systems is questionable in local context due to high capital costs. Most of the past studies related to DIC were focused on testing concrete, masonry and metallic alloy specimens, and little effort has been made on materials with recoverable large elongations. This paper presents a 3D full-field deformation measuring system that has been developed with a special focus on hyperelastic materials. The proposed system requires two common digital cameras for image acquisition, as the depth information is of interest. Images are then processed using the MATLAB-based algorithm developed to produce the full-field deformation map. Hyperelastic specimens of two different thicknesses were tested over 70% strain and the accuracy of the strain measurement using the proposed system is validated against physical measurements. The results have shown that the strains can be captured to an accuracy greater than 90% using the proposed technique.