Qualitative visualization of the development of stresses through infrared thermography

In this work, the IR thermography has been used to study the steel specimens (DIN 50125 Standard) undergoing the tensile tests. The tensile tests were performed using GUNT® Hamburg Universal Material Tester. The tensile specimens were clamped, and the test force was applied using a hand-operated hydraulic system. A dial gauge measured the elongation of the specimens. The steel specimens were coated with high emissivity paint. Using the WP 300.20 system for data acquisition, the measured values for force and displacement were recorded in a PC. The IR thermographic imaging was performed using the FLIR® T1030sc IR camera and ResearchIR Max software. The tests have revealed that the steel specimens show noticeable thermal signature when undergoing tensile loading.