Implementation of the boundary element method for detecting defects by transient thermography on an aluminum plate

This paper deals with the application of a numerical method to a non-destructive testing, describing the thermal behavior of surface flaws. This article was focused only to the two-dimensional case by solving the overall heat transfer model and applying boundary element method (BEM), to obtain the temperature variation versus time for different areas of the sample surface. The study of the changes in the temperature and the cooling profiles of the flow of heat energy through a material, interpreted for damage in the material, shows thermal conductivity as a criterion in locating damage by the thermographic technique and the computational BEM. Transient thermography was employed for the inspection of defects in an aluminum homogeneous plate (no damage) and on an heterogeneous plate (i.e., simulating damage). The results from the simulation are compared with experimental values found in the literature and show a good agreement.