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US 11,906,593 B2Granted
Method and system for testing the structural integrity of a metal joint
AssigneeKeysight Technologies, Inc.
InventorsManuel Kasper, Manuel Moertelmaier
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method is for testing the structural integrity of a metal joint such as a weld. The method includes applying stress to the metal joint, and measuring a resistance of a circuit including the metal joint during application of the stress to the metal joint. A structural integrity of the metal joint is determined by comparing the measured resistance with a baseline resistance.
Claims17
A method of testing a structural integrity of a metal joint, comprising
- applying stress to the metal joint;
- measuring a resistance of a circuit including the metal joint during application of the stress to the metal joint using a four-terminal (4T) sensing method by separate pairs of current-carrying electrodes and voltage-sensing electrodes, wherein the measured resistance, and baseline resistances are respectively obtained from a real part of a measured complex impedance of the metal joint under stress and a real part of a measured complex impedance of the metal joint not under stress;
- and
- determining a structural integrity of the metal joint according to a magnitude of a difference between the measured resistance and the baseline resistance.
1 more element
A system for testing a structural integrity of a metal joint, comprising:
- a stimulus device configured to stress the metal joint;
- a resistance measuring device configured to measure a resistance of the metal joint while the metal joint is stressed by the stimulus device, wherein the resistance is measured using a four-terminal (4T) sensing method by separate pairs of current-carrying electrodes and voltage-sensing electrodes;
- and
- a test automation platform, comprising a memory that stores executable instructions, and a processor configured to execute the instructions retrieved from the memory, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause the processor to determine a structural integrity of the metal joint based on a comparison between the measured resistance and a baseline resistance, wherein:
- the resistance measuring device is configured to measure a complex impedance of the metal joint while the metal joint is under stress;
- and the instructions, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to determine a difference between a real component of the measured impedance and the baseline resistance.
3 more elements
A method of testing a structural integrity of a metal joint, comprising:
- measuring a resistance of the metal joint to obtain a baseline impedance of the metal joint;
- applying stress to the metal joint;
- measuring a resistance of the metal joint during application of the stress to the metal joint using a four-terminal (4T) sensing method by separate pairs of current-carrying electrodes and voltage-sensing electrodes to obtain a stressed resistance of the weld;
- determining a measured difference between the baseline resistance of the metal joint and the stressed resistance of the metal joint;
- and
- comparing the measured difference to a threshold value, wherein a test result is a lack structural integrity when the measure difference exceeds the threshold value, wherein the measured and baseline resistances are respectively obtained from a real part of a measured complex impedance of the metal joint under stress and a real part of a measured complex impedance of the metal joint not under stress.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.