Discontinuous finite element numerical modelling for infrared thermographic crack characterization

A new numerical model based on discontinuous Galerkin Finite Element Methods for laser spot lock-in thermopgraphy has been developed able to characterize very narrow cracks in materials, difficult to quantify by alternative numerical methods. It has also been validated by means of experimental results from a wide variety of cracks in terms of size, width, depth and crack orientation angle. Overall, the obtained results indicate a very good agreement with experiments maintaining a satisfactory accuracy and improved computational economy.