IPC분류정보
국가/구분 |
United States(US) Patent
등록
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국제특허분류(IPC7판) |
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출원번호 |
US-0410605
(2003-04-10)
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발명자
/ 주소 |
- Reilly,Thomas L.
- Jacobstein,A. Ronald
- Cramer,K. Elliott
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출원인 / 주소 |
- Reilly,Thomas L.
- Jacobstein,A. Ronald
- Cramer,K. Elliott
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인용정보 |
피인용 횟수 :
2 인용 특허 :
19 |
초록
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A method and apparatus for testing a material such as the water-wall tubes in boilers includes the use of a portable thermal line heater having radiation shields to control the amount of thermal radiation that reaches a thermal imager. A procedure corrects for variations in the initial temperature o
A method and apparatus for testing a material such as the water-wall tubes in boilers includes the use of a portable thermal line heater having radiation shields to control the amount of thermal radiation that reaches a thermal imager. A procedure corrects for variations in the initial temperature of the material being inspected. A method of calibrating the testing device to determine an equation relating thickness of the material to temperatures created by the thermal line heater uses empirical data derived from tests performed on test specimens for each material type, geometry, density, specific heat, speed at which the line heater is moved across the material and heat intensity.
대표청구항
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What is claimed is: 1. A method of testing a material comprising: directing thermal radiation onto the material to heat the material above ambient; moving the thermal radiation along the material in a direction at a constant rate with respect to the material; and thermally imaging the material to c
What is claimed is: 1. A method of testing a material comprising: directing thermal radiation onto the material to heat the material above ambient; moving the thermal radiation along the material in a direction at a constant rate with respect to the material; and thermally imaging the material to create a plurality of thermal images with a first portion of an image collected being obtained from a first portion of the material ahead of said thermal radiation in said direction, and a second portion of the image collected being obtained from a second portion of the material behind said thermal radiation in said direction. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein said plurality of thermal images are collected as said thermal radiation is moved along said material, each of said thermal images having said first and second portions. 3. The method according to claim 2, wherein an initial temperature of said first portion of the material is determined from said first portion of one of said thermal images, a heated temperature of said first portion of the material is determined from said second portion of another one of said thermal images, and said initial temperature is subtracted from said heated temperature. 4. The method according to claim 3, wherein said initial temperature and heated temperature are determined for a plurality of positions along said material, said initial temperatures are subtracted from said heated temperatures to calculate adjusted temperatures at each of said positions, and actual thickness of said material is measured at each of said plurality of positions. 5. The method according to claim 4, wherein said adjusted temperatures are calculated for a series of distances behind said thermal radiation with respect to said direction of movement of said thermal radiation. 6. The method according to claim 5, wherein said adjusted temperatures (T) are related to thicknesses (L) of said material at each of said series of distances behind said thermal radiation by a first equation: description="In-line Formulae" end="lead"L=aT -b, whereindescription="In-line Formulae" end="tail" a is a function of total energy (q) put into said material by said thermal radiation, the speed (v) at which said thermal radiation is moved along said material, the density (p) of the material and the specific heat (c) of the material in accordance with a second equation: a=q/(v*p*c); and b is determined by substituting actual measured thicknesses of a test specimen of said material and said adjusted temperatures at a plurality of points into said first equation. 7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the thermal radiation is produced with a line heater and the thermal images are produced by an infrared camera. 8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the line heater includes a radiation shield that controls scatter of the thermal radiation directed onto the material. 9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the radiation shield comprises flexible brushes that extend from a front edge of the line heater and make contact with the material. 10. The method according to claim 1, wherein an initial temperature of said first portion of the material, is determined from said first portion of one of said thermal images, a heated temperature of said first portion of the material is determined from said second portion of another one of said thermal images, and said initial temperature is subtracted from said heated temperature to determine an adjusted temperature for said first portion of the material. 11. The method according to claim 10, wherein said material is a test specimen having a plurality of regions of reduced thickness, said method further including measuring the thicknesses at each of said plurality of regions of reduced thickness, creating thermal images of each of said plurality of regions and determining said adjusted temperatures at each of said plurality of regions. 12. The method according to claim 11, wherein said adjusted temperatures (T) are related to said measured thicknesses (L) of said test specimen at each of said plurality of regions by a first equation: description="In-line Formulae" end="lead"L=aT -b, whereindescription="In-line Formulae" end="tail" (a) is a function of total energy (q) put into said material by said thermal radiation, the speed (v) at which said thermal radiation is moved along said material, the density (p) of the material and the specific heat (c) of the material in accordance with a second equation: a=q/(v*p*c). 13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the exponent (b) is calculated from said first equation for said test specimen. 14. The method according to claim 13, further including determining thicknesses (L) of a boiler wall made from said material at a plurality of regions on said boiler wall from said first and second equations using the same value of (a) as used for said test specimen, adjusted temperatures (T) determined from thermal images taken of said plurality of regions, and said exponent (-b) for said test specimen, and calculating said thicknesses of said boiler wall from the equation: description="In-line Formulae" end="lead"L=aT -b.description="In-line Formulae" end="tail" 15. A meted of testing a material comprising: thermally imaging a plurality of different regions on the material, before the material is heated, to create a plurality of different background thermal images; directing thermal radiation onto the material to heat the material to a temperature above ambient; moving the thermal radiation along the material in a direction at a constant rate with respect to the material; thermally imaging each different region of the plurality of different regions on the heated material to create a plurality of different thermal images of heated regions each thermal image corresponding to a respective background thermal image; and subtracting a temperature determined from a background thermal image for a region from the temperature determined from a corresponding thermal image for that heated region, to obtain an adjusted temperature for each of the plurality of different regions. 16. The method according to claim 15, wherein the adjusted temperature (T) is related to thicknesses (L) of the material at each of the plurality of different regions by a first equation: description="In-line Formulae" end="lead"L=aT -b, whereindescription="In-line Formulae" end="tail" a is a function of total energy (q) put into the material by the thermal radiation, the speed (v) at which said the thermal radiation is moved along the material, the density (p) of the material and the specific heat (c) of the material in accordance with a second equation: a=q/(v*p*c); and b is determined by substituting actual measured thicknesses of a test specimen of the material and the adjusted temperatures at a plurality of points into the first equation. 17. An apparatus for testing a material, comprising: a heater mounted for movement relative to said material; a thermal imager mounted in fixed relationship to said heater and adapted to take thermal images of said material; and a thermal radiation shield positioned to control the amount of thermal radiation from said heater that can enter said thermal imager, wherein said thermal imager and said heater in said fixed relationship are adapted to collect a first portion of an image obtained from a first portion of the material ahead of the thermal radiation, and to collect a second portion of the image obtained from a second portion of the material which is behind the thermal radiation. 18. The apparatus according to claim 17, wherein said thermal radiation shield comprises flexible flanges extending from a front edge of said heater. 19. The apparatus according to claim 18, wherein said flexible flanges comprise brushes. 20. An apparatus for testing a material, comprising: means for directing thermal radiation onto the material to heat the material above ambient; means for moving the thermal radiation along the material in a direction at a constant rate with respect to the material; and means for thermally imaging the material to create a plurality of thermal images, wherein said means for thermally imaging is mounted in a fixed relationship to said means for moving the thermal radiation, and said means for moving the thermal radiation and said means for thermally imaging are adapted to collect a first portion of an image obtained from a first portion of the material ahead of the thermal radiation in said direction, and to collect a second portion of the image obtained from a second portion of the material behind the thermal radiation in said direction. 21. The apparatus according to claim 20, wherein: said means for directing said thermal radiation onto said material comprises a thermal radiation shield positioned to control the amount of thermal radiation from said means for directing thermal radiation that can enter said means for thermally imaging said material. 22. An apparatus for testing a material, comprising: means for directing thermal radiation onto the material to heat the material above ambient; means for moving the thermal radiation along the material in a direction at a constant rate with respect to the material; means for thermally imaging the material to create a plurality of thermal images; and said means for directing said thermal radiation onto said material comprising a thermal radiation shield positioned to control the amount of thermal radiation from said means for directing thermal radiation that can enter said means for thermally imaging said material, wherein said means for thermally imaging is in a fixed relationship with said means for moving the thermal radiation, and said means for thermally imaging and said means for moving the thermal radiation are adapted to collect a first portion of an image obtained from a first portion of the material ahead of the thermal radiation in said direction, and to collect a second portion of the image obtained from a second portion of the material which is behind the thermal radiation in said direction.
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