Abstract
Infrared techniques are well introduced in industry for several types of inspections. For non-destructive testing of thermal sprayed layers they couldn't be applied very successfully due to the limited resolution. Although, new developed and very fast infrared sensors combined with a miniaturised cooling system (like Stirling motors) allowing today the development of a new generation of portable infrared systems for non-destructive and fast testing of sprayed layers on large surfaces. This paper reports on results got with a first prototype of such a new designed infrared camera. It will be demonstrated that it is possible to prove coatings quality on large machine components independent of the material combination. The inspection speed is several times faster than the time used for spraying. Coating thickness measurements as well as defects like cracks or areas of bad bonding can be done with a resolution down several micrometers. Even differences in coatings quality are possible to identify, as for example the level of dilution of carbides of HVOF sprayed WC-Co coatings. Paper text in German.
