Non-destructive optical testing

The aim of this line of research is to develop and implement new non-destructive methods and techniques in the areas of mechanical tests, device calibration and surface characterization.

Non-destructive testing consists in detecting changes on the whole surface of an object under analysis. The object is illuminated by laser or white light in such a way that any mechanical interaction with its structure and composition is avoided. It is possible to measure deformation, stress, distance, tension, fracturing, density, temperature, mechanical wave propagation, volumetric flux, vibrations, velocity, vorticity, concentration, roughness, shape, pressure, etc., in a scale from nanometers to centimeters when dealing with displacements.

We research and develop techniques and optoelectronic methods to study deformations, static and dynamic, in objects with specular and non-specular surfaces, and also in phase objects. The main optical methods that we use are: electronic speckle pattern interferometry, digital holography, moiré techniques, speckle photography, schlieren, interferometry, microscopy, white light speckle correlation, polarimetry, optical coherence tomography, fringe projection, deflectometry and image particle velocimetry.
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