A quantitative comparison of stimulation and post-processing thermographic inspection methods applied to aeronautical carbon fibre reinforced polymer

Active thermographic inspection is a very powerful tool for many areas of science. However, there is no agreement about the proper stimulation and post-processing method for a particular material and defect type, which forces technicians to carry out trial and error tests. This study presents a comparison of three stimulation and six post-processing thermographic inspection methods applied to aeronautical carbon fibre reinforced polymer with different kind of simulated defects. The obtained results have been quantitatively assessed using the signal-to-noise ratio metric. Conclusions provide recommendations for technicians interested in thermographic inspection of this type of material.