Advanced orthogonal frequency and phase modulated waveform for contrast-enhanced photothermal wave radar thermography

Thermal wave radar (TWR) thermography is a high-efficient nondestructive testing technique to increase the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and to enhance target detection capability. However, the detection of subsurface defects, especially small-size defects, usually requires a distinctively high SNR and depth resolvability. This paper proposed an orthogonal phase-coded linear frequency modulated (OPCLFM) excitation waveform, which has significantly improved the SNR and depth resolvability of TWR compared to the LFM waveform. The pulse compression quality of the OPCLFM waveform was initially evaluated through a 1D thermal wave analytical model of carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) laminate. Results show that the OPCLFM waveform combined with the Kaiser window function compresses the largest sidelobe at least by 18.39 dB compared to the LFM waveform. Furthermore, the superior depth resolvability performance of the OPCLFM waveform was also validated by 3D finite element simulation. Finally, the effect of thermal conductivity on the depth resolvability performance of the OPCLFM waveform was evaluated quantitatively by a delaminated CFRP laminate.