Thermography in CFRP Processing
ImageIR® 8300 – precise, reliable and efficient
In 1960 when the first laser was announced there was no indication of how the fieldwould develop and today there is almost no area of science and industry that remains
untouched by lasers. New applications emerge almost daily demanding the developmentof even more sophisticated laser systems and one of the leading global research anddevelopment institutions for laser-based solutions and their implementation is Laser
Zentrum Hannover e.V. (LZH). Many of these new systems operate at very high laser
intensity levels and consequently require close control of thermal processes. This isachieved by the use of infrared thermography which is both contact-less and provides
imagery.

Dr. Peter Jäschke

Laser Zentrum
Hannover e.V.
30419 Hannover
www.lzh.de
InfraTec solution :ImageIR® 8300

The cutting and welding of carbon fiber reinforced polymer
composite (CFPR) requires a precisely defined energy input fromthe laser. Precision is vital as the carbon fibres only start to melt
above 3,000 °C whereas the polymer matrix making up thecomposite has already begun to melt and vaporize at temperatures as low as 130 °C. Becauseof the wide variation in the thermo-physical properties of the fibre and matrix a highly
precise and temporally resolved temperature measurement is required. Fast image
acquisition is necessary as the operational cycles of the laser processes are often very short.
Only by using such fast measurement capability can processes be understood overcoming
thermal interference effects from the base material in the quality of cut edges and weld
seams produced.
To investigate the emitted thermal radiation from the laser cutting and weldingprocesses Dr. Peter Jäschke and his composite material team use a cooled
camera operating in the mid-wave infrared waveband (2 … 5) microns – theImageIR® 8300 from InfraTec.

Temperature distribution during
welding of CFRP

With two separate filter wheels, each with five positions, spectral anomalies
during CFRP processing can be detected at a level of accuracy in temperature
measurement of ±1 %. This high level of accuracy can only be achieved by the
implementation of specially developed precision calibration methods to use
the full dynamic range of the infrared detector as well as the integration ofseveral calibration curves to guarantee for long-term stability and driftcompensation. Using InfraTec's special lenses the smallest detail can be wellresolved from a relatively large and therefore safe working distance.

laser

Control of the camera, acquisition, storage and analysis of measurement data is
performed with the IRBIS® 3 thermographic software ensuring the efficientconversion of acquired data into usable knowledge.

Temperature distribution during laser
cutting of a CFRP component© InfraTec 2015 (All the stated product names and trademarks remain in property of their respective owners.)
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E-mail+49 351 871-8630+49 351 871-8627
thermo@InfraTec.de
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Plano TX 75024 / USAPhone
E-mail+1 844-226-3722 (toll free)thermo@InfraTec-infrared.com
www.InfraTec-infrared.com