Issue |
J. Eur. Opt. Soc.-Rapid Publ.
Volume 2, 2007
|
|
---|---|---|
Article Number | 07013 | |
Number of page(s) | 5 | |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.2971/jeos.2007.07013 | |
Published online | 25 April 2007 |
Regular papers
Terahertz imaging: a new non-destructive technique for the quality control of plastic weld joints
1
Institut für Hochfrequenztechnik, Technische Universit¨at Braunschweig, Schleinitzstraße 22, 38106 Braunschweig, Germany
2
Joint Optical Metrology Center (JOMC) c/o Technische Universit¨at Braunschweig, Fakult¨at für Elektrotechnik und Informationstechnik, Hans-Sommer-Straße 66, 38106 Braunschweig, Germany
3
Süddeutsches Kunststoff-Zentrum KFE, Friedrich Bergius-Ring 22, 97076 Würzburg, Germany
* steffen.wietzke@ihf.tu-bs.de
Received:
16
March
2007
We present the first investigation of plastic weld joints using terahertz waves. Terahertz time-domain spectroscopy clearly reveals contaminations like metal or sand within the weld joint of two high-density polyethylene sheets. Furthermore, areas can be identified where the welding process has failed and the parts to be joined are separated by a small air gap. We show that a three layer structure of polyethylene-air-polyethylene has a characteristic, frequency-dependent transmission behaviour. This allows for a distinction between welded and non-welded material as well as for the calculation of the air layer thickness from the relative transmission spectrum. Consequently, terahertz time-domain spectroscopy provides a promising new non-destructive and even contactless technique, which is desired by the plastics industry for detecting a variety of deviations from the ideal welding process.
Key words: Terahertz imaging / non-destructive testing / quality control / weld joint / plastics
© The Author(s) 2007. All rights reserved.
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