Technology Assessment of Optical Methods for Nondestructive Evaluation. Part II

The objectives of the work reported in this document were (1) to assess the status of optical techniques for nondestructive evaluation and (2) to relate available optical phenomena and methods to nondestructive inspection problems. The intended reader benefits of this technology assessment of optical methods for nondestructive evaluation are twofold. First, brief qualitative descriptions of selected optical methods, which may be used in nondestructive evaluation applications, are given to help the reader quickly understand the principles involved and to visualize typical apparatus configurations. Second, specific application examples as reported in the literature are discussed so that the reader can readily grasp the variety of nondestructive evaluation problems in which the selected optical technologies can be used. These descriptions are in sufficient detail that the reader can determine whether or not a particular optical method is applicable to a nondestructive evaluation problem which he faces. Additionally, descriptions of apparatus and procedures and numerical data concerning accuracies, resolutions, operating ranges and other pertinent factors are included so that the reader can further assess applicability of a particular method to his problem and so that he can weigh possible benefits against process complexity, apparatus cost, etc. (Author)
See also Part 1, AD-A083 619.