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Trends in Optical Non-Destructive Testing and Inspection (Hardcover, 1st ed)
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Trends in Optical Non-Destructive Testing and Inspection (Hardcover, 1st ed)
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This book covers a wide range of measurement techniques broadly
referred to as Optical Metrology, with emphasis on their
applications to nondestructive testing. If we look separately at
each of the two terms making the generic name Optical Metrology, we
find a link to two of the most distinctive aspects of humans: a
particularly well developed sense of vision and a desire to
classify things using numbers and rules.
Of all our five senses, vision is certainly the most developed and
the closest to the rational part of our brain. It can be argued
that our memory is strongly dependent on images and the brain is
particularly good at processing the stimuli received from these
images to extract information. Measuring, sizing and counting are,
on the other hand, among the fundamental building blocks of modern
society. The use of abstract quantities like size, value or
intensity has simplified the description of complex enquiry and is
the basis of modern science and economy. Hence, it would seem
natural that the combination of two such basic aspects should
result in the birth of a new field of science. However, it is known
that his has not been the case. Optical Metrology remains
classified as a group of special techniques used mainly in niche
applications. Optical Metrology may be rightly described as an
ensemble of techniques in which fields such as physics, electrical
and mechanical engineering, and computer science merge and blend in
new ways.
This book is intended as a tribute to the career of Professor
Leopold Pflug. By looking back at his lifelong commitment to the
application of optical metrology to the service of engineering
sciences, more particularly devoted to the observation of the real
behavior of structural components, one can retrace the major
revolutions that have taken place in this domain. Starting his
activity in 1971 as the head of the Laboratory for Stress Analysis
at the EPFL in Switzerland, he first employed photoelasticity as a
tool to improve the understanding of the real behavior of complex
structures. However he soon recognized the necessity of working
with the real materials used to build these structures instead of
on replicas made of optically birefringent materials. He then
focussed on the use of moire techniques which sparked his
fascination with laser-based holography and speckle-based methods.
The advent of information technology led him to open up to the use
of ESPI and digital image processing techniques. Finally, in the
mid 1990s he became interested in the use of optical fibers as a
tool for sensing deformations inside structures, not only on their
surfaces as in the case of whole-field methods. It is interesting
to note the parallel in the evolution of optical metrology vis a
vis developments in other fields: the development of lasers led to
holographic interferometry, the availability of frame-grabbers led
to ESPI and the emergence of fiber optic communications opened the
way to the development of fiber optic sensors. This puts in sharp
perspective the strong dependence of optical metrology on the
latest technology for its development. Also interesting to note is
that all fields in optical metrology touched upon by Professor
Pflug are still of great relevance, as shown by the contributions
in this volume.
This book is, however, not intended as a commemoration, rather as
an occasion to review the trends and undercurrents that are driving
the field of optical metrology, with emphasis on nondestructive
testing. All the authors were asked to summarize the recent
achievements in their respective fields and to speculate about the
future. As a result it has become apparent that it is difficult
although not impossible to spot general trends in these disparate
fields. Optical metrology has considerably benefited from some of
the most important innovations of the recent past: lasers,
computers and fiber optics communication, all of which found their
direct inspiration from the developments in the world of
electronics.
In recent years we have also witnessed a shift of power from
states to corporations. This has created the need to produce quick
results useful to industry. Optical nondestructive testing has
certainly adapted to this evolution, and several contributions in
this book show that the researchers in this field understand the
importance of developing technology that can be used by the
industry to solve specific problems. We should also not forget that
optical nondestructive testing is essentially a "service
technology" and should as such not only focus on serving its
clients in the best possible way, but also should continually
emphasize, extend and enhance its services to new users still
unaware of its potential. Hopefully this book will help in
spreading awareness of the potentials of optical metrology and in
focusing on the challenges of the future.
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