Induction thermography for non-destructive evaluation of adhesive bonds

Adhesive bonding is widely used in automotive industry in the recent times. One of the major problems with adhesive bonds is the lack of a suitable non-destructive evaluation technique for assessing bonding. In this paper, an experimental study was carried out to apply induction thermography technique to evaluate adhesively bonded steel plates. Samples were fabricated with artificial defects such as air gap, foreign material, and improper adhesive filling. Induction thermography technique was found to detect defects and foreign inclusions. The sample specimen was also inspected using standard techniques such as Ultrasonic testing and Radiography testing. Defect detecting capabilities of the three techniques are compared. Induction thermography heating was FE modelled in 3D using COMSOL 3.5a. The simulated Induction thermography model was compared and validated with experimental results.