An equivalent time temperature mapping system with a 320 x 256 pixels full-frame 100 kHz sampling rate

In this paper we describe a novel temperature mapping system based on a standard infrared camera with 50 Hz frame rate for the measurement of ultrafast temperature transients which, in principle, demand for a much faster acquisition rate. In particular, we base our system on the widely used equivalent time sampling concept which can be adapted to the temperature acquisition system, thanks to a very fast and sensitive camera sensor: an InSb sensor, which allows a reduced integration time of 10 micros, and a custom digital synchronization circuit. The latter has been realized by the usage of a fully programmable digital circuit, which generates all the signals needed for the synchronization of the IR camera, of the experiment, and a personal computer needed for data acquisition and storage. We show, with experiments, how this system is capable of detecting temperature transients with an equivalent bandwidth of 100 kHz full frame, far beyond the capabilities of the fastest available IR cameras.

Contactless optoelectronic technique for monitoring epoxy cure

We describe a novel noninvasive optical technique to monitor the refractive-index variation in an epoxy-based resin that is due to the polymerization process. This kind of resin is widely used in polymer matrix composites. It is well known that the process of fabricating a thermoset-based composite involves mass and heat transfer coupled with irreversible chemical reactions that induce physical changes. To improve the quality and the reliability of these materials, monitoring the cure and optimization of the manufacturing process are of key importance. We discuss the basic operating principles of an optical system based on angle deflection measurements and present typical cure-monitoring results obtained from optical characterization. The method provides a flexible, high-sensitivity, material-independent, low-cost, noninvasive tool for monitoring real-time refractive-index variation.