93

Development and applications of thermoelastic

stress analysis

J M Dulieu-Barton1 and P Stanley2

1
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Liverpool
2
School of Engineering, University of Manchester

Abstract: The theory of thermoelastic stress analysis is reviewed and the implications of some theoretical
developments are assessed. Available instrumentation is described and techniques available for separation of
individual stress values are summarized. The scope of the technique is illustrated with reference to a number
of applications covering crack-tip stress studies, stress analysis and damage assessment in composite
materials, and field work on a traffic-loaded road bridge.

Keywords: thermoelastic stress analysis, adiabatic behaviour, crack-tip stresses, damage assessment,
SPATE, Deltatherm

NOTATION providing full-field stress data over the surface of a cycli-

cally loaded specimen or component. The technique is
A calibration factor (MPa/U) based on the measurement of the small temperature changes
B constant dependent on the operating wavelength of that accompany stress changes in an elastic solid (i.e. the
the detector (photons/s m2 K3 sterad) thermoelastic effect). In practice, the test-piece is subjected
Cp specific heat at constant pressure (J/kg K) to cyclic loading at such a frequency as to ensure adiabatic
C specific heat at constant strain (J/kg K) thermal conditions, the surface temperature changes are
D detector responsivity (K/V) monitored and the stress changes due to the cyclic loading
e surface emissivity are inferred. Test-piece preparation simply entails the appli-
E Youngs modulus (MPa) cation of a thin paint coating (usually matt black) for the
F amplification factor dependent on the system purpose of enhancing and standardizing the surface emissiv-
parameters (V) ity. This is standard practice; however, it is not necessary for
K thermoelastic constant (MPa1 ) specimen materials with a uniformly high emissivity in the
KI ; KII stress intensity factors (N/mm3=2 ) relevant waveband.
R temperature correction factor The first application of the thermoelastic stress analysis
S thermoelastic signal (U) technique consisted of a qualitative appraisal of a model
T absolute temperature (K) of a radar antennae support column subjected to bending
U uncalibrated signal unit (normalized voltage) (1). The work signalled clearly the potential of the method
Z detector response factor (V s m2 sterad/photons) and since the mid-1980s numerous further studies have
a coefficient of linear thermal expansion (K1 ) exploited and demonstrated the unique features of the
direct strain approach. Until recently all practical thermoelastic work
n Poissons ratio had involved the use of the SPATE equipment (2) which
r density (kg/m3 ) incorporates a cadmium mercury telluride (CMT) infra-
j direct stress (MPa) red detector operating in a scanning mode to provide a stress
jm mean stress (MPa) contour map over a selected frame of a test-piece. A
jY yield stress (MPa) major recent development has been the introduction of a
q cyclic load frequency (Hz) new system (3) incorporating a 128 128 indium antimo-
nide (InSb) detector array, which obviates the need for scan-
1 INTRODUCTION ning and thus considerably reduces the time factor in
thermoelastic testing.
In this paper the theory of the technique is summarized
Thermoelastic stress analysis is a non-contacting technique
and the implications of a number of conditions relating to
The MS was received and accepted for publication on 3 March 1998. the interpretation of the measured temperature changes are

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94 J M DULIEU-BARTON AND P STANLEY
discussed. Important developments are reviewed. The very
considerable scope and potential of the technique are illu-
strated in descriptions of a range of applications covering
inter alia crack-tip stress studies, stress analysis and non-
destructive damage assessment in composite materials,
and field work on a road traffic bridge. The purpose is to
provide a critical overview of the current status of the tech-
nique and to indicate where further development effort
might best be deployed.
2 THEORETICAL ASPECTS
2.1 Basic equations
The development of the basic first-order relationships
between the stress change in an elastic solid and the result-
ing temperature change (D T ) and between the temperature
change and the received signal (S ) from the detecting sys-
tem is well documented (2, 4, 5). For an isotropic material,
aT
DT Djx jy
rCp
where Djx jy is the change in the sum of the orthogonal
direct stresses on the surface of the solid, a, r and Cp are the
coefficient of thermal expansion, the density and the specific
heat respectively of the material and T is the absolute tem-
perature. The quantity a=rCp is referred to as the thermo-
elastic constant of the material and is denoted by the symbol
K.
A relationship between the resulting detector signal and
the stresses can be developed by:
(a) relating the change in the spectral radiant photon emit-
tance derived from Plancks law to the temperature
change and thence the stress change [see equation (1)],
(b) assuming that the detector voltage output is linearly
related to the change in the spectral radiant photon
emittance and
(c) allowing for amplication of the detector output so that
the data can be displayed over the full available range
and resolution of the analogue-to-digital converter
(ADC).
The resulting relationship is as follows:
   of the material
1 F
Djx jy S 2
3BZT 2 TeK
where
B constant dependent on the operating wavelength of
the detector
Z detector response factor
F amplification factor dependent on the system para-
meters
e emissivity of the surface
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The first bracketed term in equation (2) is known as the
detector responsivity, D, and is determined by the manufac-
turer of the detector system at a given temperature. D is tem-
perature dependent; if the system is used at a temperature
which differs from that at which D was initially determined
then it is necessary to include a temperature correction term,
R, in equation (2) of the form
 2
TD
R 3
TE
where the subscript D denotes the temperature at which D
was obtained and the subscript E denotes the temperature
of the surface of a test-piece during experimental work.
For standard laboratory conditions (i.e. variations of surface
temperature of only a few kelvin) R is very close to unity.
Inclusion of R in equation (2) yields
 
DRF
Djx jy S 4
TeK
The bracketed term in equation (4) is a proportionality con-
stant (or calibration factor). This constant, A, is dependent
1 on the system parameters, the material and the surface con-
dition, and its inclusion in equation (4) results in the familiar
form of the thermoelastic equation:
Djx jy
S 5
A
It is noteworthy that (jx jy ) [see equations (1) and (5)] is
the first invariant of the surface stress system. It is clear also
that the thermoelastic response for a surface shear stress is
zero.
For an orthotropic material (2, 5), equations (1) and (5)
become
T
DT ap Dj ap22 Dj22 6
rCp 11 11
and
ap11 Dj11 ap22 Dj22
S 7
A*
respectively, where
ap11 and ap22 principal coefficients of thermal expansion
Dj11 and Dj22 changes in the normal stresses in the
directions of the principal material axes
and
DRFrCp
A* 8
Te
Alternatively, equation (7) can be expressed as
a11 Djp11 a22 Djp22
S 9
A*
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 DEVELOPMENT AND APPLICATIONS OF THERMOELASTIC STRESS ANALYSIS
where
Djp11and Djp22
changes in the principal stresses
a11 and a22 coefficients of thermal expansion in the
directions of the principal stresses
A general version covering both equations (7) and (9) is
    load frequency (2q) is proportional to the plastic work
A*S ap J Djp Djp J ap 10
where
 p 2.3
a row vector of principal expansion coefficients
 p
Dj column vector of principal stress changes
and
2 3
cos2 f sin2 f 2 cos f sin f
4 lia, in the late 1980s. The first step in this development was
J sin2 f cos2 f 2 cos f sin f 5
cos f sin f cos f sin f cos2 f sin2 f
11
in which f is the angle between the principal stress direc-
tions and the principal material axes. It is to be noted that
equations (7), (9) and (10) reduce to equation (5) when
the material is isotropic.
The treatment that leads to equations (1) and (6) is cru-
cially dependent on three assumptions:
1. The material behaviour is linearly elastic.
2. The relevant material properties are not temperature
dependent.
3. The temperature changes in the material occur under
adiabatic conditions.
Much effort has been devoted to assessments of the effects
of departures from these assumptions; this work is now
reviewed.
2.2 Non-elastic loading
Enke and Sandor (6) have considered the effects of load
cycling beyond the elastic strain limit such that the
stressstrain path follows a stable hysteresis loop. They
dealt with an isotropic solid and, making a number of sim-
plifying assumptions, they developed an expression for the
temperature changes in the solid due to both elastic and
plastic deformations. From this they showed that peaks in
the detector output could be expected at frequencies of q
and 2q (where q is the applied cyclic load frequency), the
former being attributable to elastic deformations, the latter
to plastic deformations. Experimental work on annealed
copper provided verification of these theoretical predictions.
Enke pursued this work in a subsequent paper (7) which
provides an unusually thorough treatment of thermoelastic
and thermoplastic theory. He confirmed Wongs treatment
of the thermoelastic effect (see Section 2.3) and again
derived the q and 2q signal peaks mentioned above. He
noted that, in practice, due to imperfect high-pass filtering,
thermoplastic effects will have some influence on the q sig-
nal. He also showed the relevance of variations in surface
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95
emissivity and temperature across the scanned field and
obtained an expression for the thermoelastic signal-to-noise
ratio. His experimental work included an assessment of
residual stresses in a Ti6A14V alloy specimen and tests
on a 1020 steel, which provided confirmation that for load-
controlled cycling the detector signal at twice the cyclic
energy per load cycle.
Temperature dependence of material properties
The effects of temperature dependence in the material prop-
erties on the thermoelastic response were elucidated in a
series of papers of outstanding importance from the Aero-
nautical Research Laboratory (ARL) in Melbourne, Austra-
the observation (8) that for a number of aluminium and tita-
nium alloys the thermoelastic signal was dependent on the
mean stress of the applied stress cycle. [The clear indication
from equations (1) and (5) is that the signal should depend
only on the peak-to-peak range of the stress cycle.]
The observation triggered a detailed scrutiny of the
theory behind the thermoelastic effect by Wong, Jones
and Sparrow who showed (9) that, by retaining the tempera-
ture derivatives of the elastic properties of the material in
the derivation, the observed mean stress dependence could
be accounted for very satisfactorily.
The revised theory showed that, in general, for a three-
dimensional stress state, the thermoelastic temperature
change depends on E=T, n=T and the mean stress value
(where E is Youngs modulus and n is Poissons ratio). The
significant effects are amply illustrated with reference to a
uniaxial stress state for which it is shown that
 
T 1 E
DT a 2 jm Dj 12
rC E T
where jm and Dj are the mean value and range of the
applied stress cycle. [For an applied sinusoidal load cycle
there is also a small second harmonic component in the tem-
perature change at a frequency of 2q, proportional to Dj2 .
This effect has been confirmed experimentally (10).]
The contrasting implications of equations (1) and (12) are
very evident. The omission of the additional term will result
in an underestimation of the stress amplitude in cases where
the mean stress is tensile. Originally, this work (9) was pre-
sented as a demonstration of the stress dependence of the
thermoelastic constant, K, and numerical values of the
quantity K=jm =K are given in reference (9). Alterna-
tively, it might be seen as showing that the KDj product
[equation (1)] itself cannot adequately account for the total
thermoelastic temperature change and that an additional
term is required. The relative importance of the additional
term can be quantified in two ways:
1. Taking jY =2 (jY , the uniaxial yield stress of the material)
as an indication of the maximum value of the mean stress
JOURNAL OF STRAIN ANALYSIS VOL 33 NO 2
96 J M DULIEU-BARTON AND P STANLEY
of the applied stress cycle, the magnitude of the quantity
E=T [jY =2aE2 ] in relation to unity gives a measure
of the error incurred in ignoring the term. Values of the
quantity for steel, aluminium alloy and titanium alloy
are given in Table 1. It can be seen that for steel and
the aluminium alloy the omission will result in an error
of no more than a few per cent, but for titanium an error
of 20 per cent could occur.
2. The mean stress value for which an error of 1 per cent
(say) would occur in a derived stress range as a result
of omitting the additional term might also be taken as
an indicator of its significance. (The error increases pro-
portionately with increases in mean stress.) Values of the
mean stress to give a 1 per cent error in the derived stress
range are provided in Table 1 as a percentage of the yield
stress [column headed (jm =jY ) 1%].
There is no doubt that the work in references (8) to (10)
amounted to a major advance in the thermoelastic field. In
practical terms, however, the impact of the work for sev-
eral commonly used materials (e.g. steel, aluminium) is
not significant.
2.4 Signal attenuation due to non-adiabatic effects
For homogeneous materials it has long been established that
adiabatic (and therefore frequency-independent) behaviour
under stress cycling occurs above a frequency of a few
Hz, dependent on the thermal diffusivity of the material
and assuming that stress gradients are not extreme. This is
also the case for randomly reinforced composite materials,
for which the thermoelastic constant (K) can be readily cal-
culated (11). However, for a laminated composite material,
following observations by Dunn et al. (12), Wong (13)
showed that a frequency dependence in the thermoelastic
response associated with interlaminar heat transfer could
be expected in certain cases.
Quantifying the time-scale of the thermal diffusion pro-
cess in terms of the Fourier number, Wong demonstrated
that the thermoelastic response of a typical unidirectional
carbon-fibre-reinforced plastic (CFRP) laminate could be
treated as that of a homogeneous material, in that, for the
usual loading frequencies, there would be no discontinuities
in the temperature changes occurring in the fibres and
matrix of the laminate. He also showed that in a laminate
consisting of plies of different fibre orientation, temperature
equilibrium between adjacent plies could not be expected
Table 1 Influence of the mean stress on derived stress values for
a range of materials
jY 1 E
jY
Material (MPa) 2 aE2 T
Steel (4340) 304 3:5 102
Aluminium alloy (2024) 197 6:0 102
Titanium alloy (6Al4V) 430 18:6 102
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for cyclic load frequencies up to 30 Hz and beyond; i.e.
the effects of heat conduction from ply to ply would be sig-
nificant. [This is only the case when the stress state changes
from ply to ply. In the absence of such change no anomalous
behaviour occurs (5, 12, 14).] Wong (13) described a
numerical treatment of the ply-to-ply heat transfer problem
in a 24-ply CFRP laminate (Ciba-Geigy XAS-914C prepreg
with a [(0, 45, 45)4 ]s lay-up). The work showed the tem-
perature profile through the laminate thickness to be fre-
quency dependent up to at least 100 Hz, and both the
amplitude and phase of the surface temperature change
were frequency dependent. Supporting experimental results
were also presented. The work showed clearly that, depend-
ing on the stress state, the surface temperature changes may
depend, to a degree, on the laminate structure.
Wong pursued the numerical work (13) to evaluate the
contribution of the temperature changes in successively
deeper plies of a laminate to the surface temperature change.
For the previously considered [(0, 45, 45)4 ]s CFRP
laminate subjected to sinusoidal loading in the 0 direction
he showed that even at 30 Hz the relative magnitude of the
contribution from the second layer is considerable. In an
elegant extension of this work he showed how this depth
effect could be exploited to provide individual strain
components in laminated plates with three or more ply
orientations; the subsequent experimental confirmation is
impressive. Dunn has described related work (15).
Dunn also described (16) an experimental investigation
of thermal conductivity effects arising from high stress gra-
dients in a homogeneous body, rather than from ply-to-ply
stress changes in a laminate. His specimen was essentially
an aluminium strip with an abrupt change of section at the
centre; the resulting severe stress concentration gave rise
to high localized through-thickness temperature gradients
when the specimen was subjected to cyclic uniaxial loading.
Both magnitude and phase of the thermoelastic signal from
the region of the change of section were shown to be fre-
quency dependent; the former showed a 20 per cent
decrease for a frequency change from 10 to 30 Hz. Support-
ing numerical work was also presented. The work confirmed
the possibility of some thermal diffusivity effects in thermo-
elastic work. Dunn suggested that the phase of the thermo-
elastic signal should be determined as a diagnostic check.
He also recommended that where thermal diffusivity effects
are appreciable, they can be alleviated by increasing the
loading frequency or by increasing the dimensions of the
specimen. Lesniak (17) has proposed a technique for deter-
mining subsurface stresses from the frequency dependence
of the thermoelastic response.
McKelvie and MacKenzie (18) have dealt thoroughly
with factors that could cause attenuation in the thermo-
jm
elastic signal. They covered effects due to (a) heat loss
(1%)
jY from the specimen surface to the environment, (b) conduc-
tive heat losses into the surrounding material and (c) ther-
0.29 mal lag and thermal drag-down resulting from the
0.17
0.05 presence of a surface coating. The indications were that in
the great majority of cases the effects of surface heat losses
S00998 IMechE 1998
 DEVELOPMENT AND APPLICATIONS OF THERMOELASTIC STRESS ANALYSIS
will be negligible. In the treatment of conductive heat losses
attention was drawn to the phase lag that accompanies this
form of attenuation. Two attenuation effects were identified
for a surface coating: the insulating effect referred to as
thermal lag and the effect of the finite thermal capacity
of the coating referred to as thermal drag-down. Both
effects were analysed in detail. Welch and Zickel (19)
have identified four regions of thermoelastic response
that are dependent on coating thickness and loading fre-
quency for a given material.
In practical terms it has been shown (20) that for a steel
specimen there is no deleterious effect on the thermoelastic
signal for up to eight passes of RS matt black paint at fre-
quencies from 5 to 30 Hz. The operational experiences of
the authors have shown that on a wide range of engineering
materials two passes of RS matt black paint are sufficient to
ensure high emissivity and have a minimal attenuation
effect on the response at frequencies up to 30 Hz.
3 EQUIPMENT DESIGN
The first commercially available equipment for thermoelas-
tic stress analysis was the SPATE (Stress Pattern Analysis
by measurement of Thermal Emissions) system (2). The
SPATE system incorporates a single-cell CMT infra-red
detector that operates in the 812 m wavelength range.
The detector unit contains a motor-driven mirror system
that allows the detector to scan in a point-by-point raster
mode over a selected area of a test-piece. The detector out-
put signal is phase locked with a reference signal obtained
from the load cell function generator or the test structure
itself by means of a lock-in amplifier. The lock-in proce-
dure reduces noise by filtering out any signals that are not
at the reference frequency and allows differentiation
between positive and negative stresses. The lock-in data
are then sampled by a 12-bit ADC and the average of these
samples is displayed as the signal for that point on the com-
puter monitor. A typical SPATE scan can take one to two
hours due to the fact that each data point is processed by
the analogue system before it is displayed on the computer
screen. A scale factor is introduced, known as the correlator
sensitivity, G, which allows the received signal to be
displayed over the full available range of the 12-bit ADC
incorporated in the SPATE system.
Recently (3) a new instrument for thermoelastic stress
analysis, known as Deltatherm, has become commercially
available. Although the underlying theory remains the
same the development of this equipment represents a step
change in the technology associated with thermoelastic
stress analysis. The Deltatherm system incorporates a
128 128 InSb focal plane array detector, operating in the
25 m wavelength range, which simplifies the scanning
unit design and obviates the need for mechanical scanning.
The signal processing is carried out digitally at a speed of
434 frames per second. Each detector takes readings for
the entire acquisition time and this reduces the scan time
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97
from hours to seconds. As the data are digitally processed
a reasonable image can be obtained on the computer moni-
tor in as little as 1.2 s. A range of lenses is available so that
very small areas can be studied, providing the Deltatherm
with much higher resolution than that of SPATE. Data can
be accumulated over 1.2, 2.3, 3.5 and 4.7 s. Clearly the
greater the accumulation time the less significant the noise
contribution; to improve matters still further a series of
accumulated images can be integrated over a longer period
of time. A full description of the design of the Deltatherm
system is available in a NASA report (21).
A further (22, 23) and, as yet, commercially unavailable
focal plane array system has been developed at the ARL
in Australia. The system, known as FAST (Focal-plane
Array for Synchronous Thermography), is based on a
512 512 platinum silicon (PtSi) detector array which oper-
ates in the 25 m wavelength range. The CMT, InSb and
PtSi detectors all operate at cryogenic temperatures and
therefore require cooling by liquid nitrogen. Both SPATE
and Deltatherm are bulk cooled simply by pouring liquid
nitrogen into a Dewar vessel to which the detector(s) are
connected. The FAST detector system has an in-built Stir-
ling cycle refrigeration unit, which means that bulk storage
of liquid nitrogen is unnecessary. The FAST system oper-
ates at a rate of 25 frames per second, much slower than
that of the Deltatherm. This causes aliasing difficulties
when the specimen-loading frequency is a multiple of
25 Hz. Both the Deltatherm and FAST systems have one
significant disadvantage compared to SPATE in that, at pre-
sent, there are no facilities for motion compensation. This is
necessary when the movement of the test specimen in rela-
tion to the detector target area becomes excessive. A simple
way to resolve the problem is to increase the detector work-
ing distance; however, this will result in a loss of resolution.
As the SPATE system comprises motor-driven mirrors, a
solution is to excite the mirrors at the same rate as the speci-
men. A device is available for this purpose and is described
in reference (24). Some suggestions have been made (22)
that motion compensation can be achieved digitally, but
such solutions have not been forthcoming.
Other equipments (25, 26) have been proposed for ther-
moelastic stress analysis based on commercially avail-
able infra-red cameras but have not been used extensively.
Beghi appraises the use of contacting temperature sen-
sors in his review (27) of strain-induced thermal effects in
solids.
The introduction of the focal plane array detectors has
marked a major change in the application range of thermo-
elastic stress analysis. The new equipment provides the
means to observe real-time fatigue damage accumulation
and crack growth. The reduced mass of the detector unit
due to the removal of the motor-driven mirror scanning sys-
tem makes the equipment far more portable and therefore
makes field studies a more realistic option. The rapid
retrieval of data will allow readings to be taken from struc-
tures subjected to only short bursts of loads such as bridges
and buildings.
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98 J M DULIEU-BARTON AND P STANLEY

4 CALIBRATION The approach now is to determine first A** and then

ap22 =ap11 . A** is determined by loading a sample of the
To obtain quantitative stress values from the thermoelastic material in such a way that the stress transverse to its major
output it is necessary to determine the calibration factor, principal direction [j22 , equations (6) and (7)] is zero. A**
A, given in equation (5). A number of techniques have then follows as Dj11 =S. The constant ap22 =ap11 is obtained
been described (28) for the calibration of isotropic materi- by loading a sample of the material in such a way that j11
als. It is possible to obtain A directly from equation (4). In is zero, for which case
the case of SPATE the constant D is supplied by the manu-
facturer and F can be determined directly using the equip- ap22 A**S
15
ment parameters. (In the case of the array detector ap11 Dj22
systems a method for establishing D has not been defined.)
However, calibration using equation (4) is not recom- An application of this approach has been demonstrated in
mended as, apart from F, the five bracketed quantities in the stress analysis of a particular form of composite joint
equation (4) are experimental in nature; errors in these quan- (29).
tities will accumulate to give an error in A. Of particular
concern is the derivation of the thermoelastic constant, K,
which is dependent on a knowledge of three distinct mate- 5 FURTHER TECHNICAL DEVELOPMENTS
rial properties. Ranges of property values are often provided
in the literature and accurate values are not always easily 5.1 Stress separation
obtained.
It is evident from equations (5) and (7) that the thermo-
A more satisfactory approach to calibration is to relate the
elastic signal depends on both of the in-plane direct stresses
thermoelastic signal to a measured strain. For this an ortho-
on the test-piece surface. In numerous applications this has
gonal strain gauge rosette is attached to the surface of the
presented no problem but, clearly, cases will arise where
component. The calibration constant can then be determined
these stresses are finite and unequal, and individual stress
from a knowledge of the measured strain and the thermo-
values are required. Techniques for the extraction of sepa-
elastic signal from a point adjacent to the rosette, i.e.
rate stress values from thermoelastic data have been
E 1 reviewed recently (30); a brief recapitulation is included
A Dx y 13
1n S here for completeness.
Ryall and Wong (31) have described and illustrated an
where Dx y is the change in the sum of the measured
approach based on the determination of the coefficients of
direct strains and E and n are Youngs modulus and
a polynomial stress function by minimizing the differences
Poissons ratio of the component material.
between generated and observed stress sum values. In
Significant errors can occur if the gauges are attached in
a significant improvement of an earlier technique (32),
an area with a large stress gradient; the strains at the point
Huang and Rowlands (33) describe a general approach
where the thermoelastic reading is taken may differ from
using complex stress functions. A data-smoothing operation
those at the gauges. A preliminary scan is therefore recom-
is included in the technique and good results are obtained
mended before attaching strain gauges so that they can be
for the case of an aluminium alloy plate with a central cir-
positioned in an area of approximately uniform strain.
cular hole. For orthotropic materials Feng et al. (34) have
Perhaps the best approach to calibration is to use a test
applied the hybrid thermoelastic/finite element approach
specimen made from the component material and loaded
described in reference (32) and Wong (13) has exploited
in such a way as to produce a known stress distribution
the frequency-dependent depth effect in laminated compo-
(e.g. dog-bone, Brazilian disc, beam in three- or four-point
sites to provide separate in-plane stress values. Stanley and
bending). Thermoelastic readings from the specimen com-
Dulieu-Smith (30) have described different forms of bonded
bined with the appropriate stress values allow A to be deter-
thermoelastic strain gauge which can be used for stress
mined. A practical difficulty with this approach occurs when
separation. These gauges are essentially strain transfer
the component is manufactured from an unknown or spe-
devices designed so that the thermoelastic signal from the
cialist material where it would be costly to produce further
gauge can be combined with that from the specimen surface
specimens.
to give separate stress values. A successful combined ther-
Some calibration work on isotropic composites has been
moelastic and photoelastic stress separation exercise on a
described (11) in which a Brazilian disc specimen was used
plate with a central circular hole loaded in tension has
to obtain a calibration constant for an SMC (sheet moulding
been described (35).
compound) material. A typical scan is shown in Fig. 1.
For quantitative work with orthotropic composites it is
advantageous to write equation (7) in the following form: 5.2 Residual stress measurement
ap A* The jm term in equation (12) can be seen as a residual stress
Dj11 22
p Dj 22 p S A**S 14
a11 a11 rather than the mean stress of the applied stress range, the
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 DEVELOPMENT AND APPLICATIONS OF THERMOELASTIC STRESS ANALYSIS
Fig. 1 SPATE contour plot of an SMC disc in two-point diametral compression (Brazilian disc)
practical significance being the possible use of the equation
as a basis for non-destructive residual stress measurement.
The feasibility of such an approach has been demonstrated
(36) using a Duralumin beam which was deformed in bend-
ing beyond the materials elastic limit and then straightened
and loaded in uniaxial tension. The thermoelastic response
of the specimen containing large residual stresses was com-
pared to that from an unstressed geometrically identical test
specimen. The results from each specimen differed consid-
erably. The specimen containing the residual stresses pro-
vided results that agreed almost exactly with readings
from strain gauges that were attached to the specimen prior
to deformation. Some recent confirmatory studies have been
carried out (37), which have attempted to address the effects
of plastic deformation on the material properties in equation
(12). No further work on the development of the technique
for residual stress measurement has been published, the
main reason being the sensitivity limit of the SPATE detec-
tor. With the design of the new array detectors residual
stress measurement using thermoelastic techniques is a
real possibility.
5.3 High temperatures
An examination of equation (1) shows that as the surface
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99
temperature of the specimen increases the change in tem-
perature due to the thermoelastic effect also increases. Initi-
ally, therefore, it appears that thermoelastic work at high
temperatures might be a relatively simple and attractive
proposition. However, there are a number of practical diffi-
culties (38) associated with testing at elevated temperatures.
These are cited in reference (38) as (a) thermal gradients in
the test specimen caused by conduction through the grips,
(b) specimen surface emissivity changes coupled with
reflections from the oven wall and the infra-red detector,
(c) motion of the test specimen so that an area of back-
ground is included in the thermoelastic output and (d)
edge effects when the detector target area straddles the spe-
cimen edge. An oven known as the stealth furnace (38),
has been designed which reduces the effects of the above.
The temperature of the oven is controlled so that all areas
and the specimen are within 2 K. Separate heating ele-
ments are mounted on the test specimen and are controlled
via thermocouples mounted at each end of the specimen.
This reduces conduction losses through the grips, minimiz-
ing thermal gradients in the specimen, and also ensures
that the specimen is at the same temperature as the oven
walls. The triangular shape of the oven minimizes the solid
angle subtended by the specimen, reducing reflections
from the oven walls, and the test specimen is mounted at
JOURNAL OF STRAIN ANALYSIS VOL 33 NO 2
100 J M DULIEU-BARTON AND P STANLEY
an angle to the detector axis, reducing reflections from the
detector.
5.4 Non-sinusoidal loading
In the late 1980s extensive work (39, 40) was carried out at
the National Engineering Laboratories (NEL), East Kil-
bride, Scotland, on the application of thermoelastic stress
analysis to structures under non-sinusoidal random loading.
The technique is based on deriving the frequency response
function (FRF) of a structure from the thermoelastic data.
A signal processing system was developed that was con-
nected to a standard SPATE equipment. This system
allowed both the SPATE signal and the reference signal
time history to be transferred to the frequency domain using
a Fourier transform so that the FRF could be computed. The
results under quasi-static random loading were shown to be
particularly good. Under modal conditions a single scan
could be analysed to provide stress data at all the resonant
frequencies within the excitation bandwidth, although this
would be laborious when the modal density is high. Perhaps
the most important development from this work was demon-
strating that quantitative data could be obtained from impact
loading. With the SPATE system the impact load had to be
repeated for each scanning point. The new array detectors
used in conjunction with the FRF technique provide a
more efficient means of real-time impact load analysis.
More recently (41) a different approach to random load-
ing has been suggested. A ratio of the thermoelastic signal to
the input signal was defined as the effective signal. The
technique was demonstrated on a strip with a central circular
hole loaded in tension and yielded practically the same
results as those from sinusoidal loading.
6 APPLICATIONS
Most of the early applied studies using SPATE concentrated
on confirming that the technique was viable. A study of
plates and rings under in-plane loading (20) showed that
for a range of specimens with known stress distributions,
SPATE could produce results practically identical to those
given by theory. Work on a freely formed pressure vessel
end under internal pressure (42) demonstrated that SPATE
could provide useful data for pressure vessels subjected to
simulated in-service loading. An early practical example
of an application of SPATE was a study of nuclear plant
components (43).
SPATE has been used in the field (44) to measure the
stresses in a bridge under traffic loading. Here the cyclic
load was provided by the traffic crossing the bridge. As it
took around 1 s to collect reasonable SPATE data at a single
point, each point in the data represented a different vehicle
crossing the bridge. As the mass of each vehicle differed, the
loading was of a random nature. A straightforward method
of solution to this problem was adopted in that the data were
normalized against a reference strain gauge reading for each
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burst of traffic load. A spectrum analyser was used to sam-
ple the detector and the strain gauge reading to provide the
ratio of their amplitudes over a range of frequencies which
allowed an FRF to be calculated for the structure. Relative
stress maps were produced from the data for a variety of
locations in the bridge and were used to identify the most
highly stressed locations. The main disadvantage in the pro-
cedure was the very long acquisition time. This type of work
will be much less time consuming with the development of
the array-type detectors.
Another important development is the use of thermo-
elastic stress analysis at the design stage on rapid prototyped
models, greatly reducing the overall time-to-market for a
typical product. Recent work (45) has shown how a standard
stereolithography material can be calibrated for thermo-
elastic stress analysis and then used in a variety of design
case studies.
The thermoelastic technique has been used successfully
to evaluate crack-tip stress fields. Initially the work concen-
trated on determining mode I and mode II stress intensity
factors (46, 47). The Westergaard equations were the basis
for the analysis and it was shown that stress intensity factors
could be obtained directly from the SPATE data without
recourse to any other techniques. More recently (48)
mixed-mode cracks have been studied. The geometry of
the isopachics take the very distinct form of a cardioid curve
(see Fig. 2). By using two geometrical features (the orienta-
tion of the cardioid and the enclosed area) reasonable values
of both KI and KII have been obtained from the SPATE data.
A review (49) of the above work has recently been pub-
lished which covers these techniques in detail. A different
approach has been adopted (50) based on the Muskhelishvili
elasticity equations and has provided excellent results for
mode I cracks and moderate results for mixed-mode cracks.
This was also apparent in the work described in reference
(48). Although the basis of both techniques is different there
are some common features: the simulated cracks were pro-
duced by spark erosion and the data were taken from
selected points and not the entire field around the crack
tip. In reference (48) the effect of the far-field stress j0x
was also neglected. This topic is one of the major areas of
current study.
An important area for thermoelastic techniques is in the
assessment of composite materials. Here the non-contact
nature and high resolution of the technique are particularly
attractive. Although there are many issues to resolve when
using the technique to study composites, some very success-
ful quantitative work has been carried out. Zhang and San-
dor (51) have studied stress concentrations at yarn/fibre
intersections in a material constructed from bundles of car-
bon fibres and stitched together using a knit yarn. Stress
concentration factors were evaluated by comparing the
nominal SPATE signal in the fibre to that in the knit yarn;
the spacing of the knit yarn had a considerable effect on
the stress concentrations developed in the fibre bundles
(see Fig. 3). Quantitative studies (29) have been carried
out on a glass-polyester tee-joint. A schematic of the joint
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 DEVELOPMENT AND APPLICATIONS OF THERMOELASTIC STRESS ANALYSIS 101

Fig. 2 SPATE contour plot of the region around a 45 edge crack

is shown in Fig. 4. The SPATE data from the joint were cali- mechanics theory and results in the inclusion of extra terms
brated using the technique described in Section 4. A SPATE in equation (6) to account for damage. This method has been
contour plot of the joint under combined bending and ten- used to evaluate fatigue damage accumulation in glass/
sion loading (i.e. a 45 pull-off test) is shown in Fig. 5. epoxy laminates. A simplified version of the approach
Finite element data were produced in the same form as described in reference (53) has been used by Purcell (54),
the SPATE data [see equation (14)] and a comparison was who tested an SCS-6/Beta Ti 45=90=0s metal matrix
made between the two. The SPATE data highlighted the composite specimen which took the form of a strip with a
effects of geometrical inaccuracies introduced during manu- central circular hole. The specimen was loaded in uniaxial
facturing. These caused increased stresses at the fillet radius
due to a reduction in cross-sectional area. The effect was not
modelled by the finite element work as an idealized form of
the joint geometry was used.
Much of the work on composites has concentrated on
damage assessment. The intention of the work was to
show that the thermoelastic signal could be used as the basis
for a damage parameter. With the SPATE technique it is
necessary to introduce the damage prior to testing and to
ensure that no damage growth occurs during the SPATE
scans. At present two different approaches have been
reported (52, 53). The first (52) uses the change in the
surface temperature profile from the undamaged to
the damaged state. This has been used successfully on
impact-damaged carbon/epoxy and to detect the growth of
a surface crack through a boron/epoxy repair patch. The sec- Fig. 3 The influence of knit yarn spacing on the stress concentra-
ond approach (53) is based on Kachanovs damage tion factor [from reference (51)]
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102 J M DULIEU-BARTON AND P STANLEY

7 CLOSURE

In the foregoing review of thermoelastic stress analysis, the

essential features of the technique and the associated instru-
mentation have been described and its potential for quanti-
tative stress-related studies in both homogeneous and
composite materials has been demonstrated.

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