Enhanced image processing and archiving capabilities of magneto-optical imaging for non-destructive evaluation

In its current state, the wide acceptance of the Magneto-Optical Imaging (MOI) technique is hindered due to noise, lack of recordable results, and impossibility of data post-processing. This paper presents some add-ons made to a commercial MOI system to ease the image interpretation, archiving and reporting of the results. In addition, a few image processing techniques are also employed in an attempt to perform automatic flaw detection. The recording capability of the MOI instrument output images was addressed by digitizing the video signal in video or image files. To help with the identification of the damage location and distance between images, a rotary quadrature encoder was mounted onto the MOI scan head. The use of the encoder allowed the identification of the inspection location with respect to a reference position, such as the beginning of the scan. Moreover, it allowed saving images at fixed intervals, which were then stitched into a single image, thus simplifying the post inspection analysis process. Both live and post-inspection image processing capabilities were made available. Implemented image processing included background subtraction, de-noising, contrast adjustment and morphological operation, among others. Contrast stretching transform and background subtractions were found to be among the most powerful techniques that could be used in simplifying the image interpretation.