The paper describes a phase-sensitive photothermal technique for the determination of the thermal conductance of a crack or interface embedded within a plate of finite thickness. The technique involves sinusoidally-modulated heating at one point on the surface using a focused laser beam and measurement of the phase shift of the thermal wave at some other point. An analysis is presented for the relationship between the phase lag, the modulation frequency, the specimen geometry, and the thermal properties of both the interface and the solid. The technique is demonstrated using a model system comprising two stainless steel disks, with the "interfaces" between them being formed either by simply placing the two disks in contact with each another, or by placing thin layers of polyethylene sheets between the disks. The trends are rationalized on the basis of the thermal properties of the constituents.70:FZ6S(8/12/97)January 13. 1998-3:25 PM/mcf
INTRODUCTIONThe present article describes a photothermal technique and the associated analysis for the determination of the thermal conductance of a crack or interface embedded within a plate of finite thickness. The technique is based on periodic heating at a point on one surface, using, for example, a focused laser beam, and measurement of the phase lag of the thermal wave at some other point. In the absence of an interface, the technique can be used to determine the thermal diffusivity of the material. The work is motivated by concurrent studies on the thermal conductance of delamination cracks in fiber-reinforced ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) and its effect on failure in the presence of a temperature gradient. An example of such a crack is shown in Fig. 1. Although the technique is being developed mainly to study CMCs, it can be applied readily to other problems involving interfaces or cracks in multilayered or coated systems.Photothermal techniques have been used extensively to study the thermal properties of materials [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12]. A recent summary of these can be found in [12]. The techniques have been used also as nondestructive tools for detecting sub-surface defects [12][13][14][15][16][17][18]. The focus of the present work is on one specific subgroup of these techniques, notably, that based upon periodic heating and phase lag measurement.The main advantage of the present technique is that it provides quantitative information about the thermal conductance of cracks and interfaces, rather than simply identifying regions where such defects are present. This information is crucial for failure prediction in a broad range of technological systems, including delamination of thermally-loaded CMC structures, multilayered power electronic devices and thermal barrier coatings.In the past, thermal conductances have been measured predominantly by dc techniques [19][20][21][22]. These techniques require a heat flux, q, to flow through the 70:FZ6S(8/12/97)January 13, 1998*3:25 PM/mcf interface as well as through the bulk of the two contacting s...