Infrared non-destructive evaluation of cooling holes using evaporative membrane

A thermal inspection system for a component having at least one cooling hole, comprising:

• a working fluid source configured to supply a working fluid to at least one internal passage of a component, the internal passage further comprising a plurality of cooling holes configured to exhaust working fluid from the internal passage;
• an evaporative membrane comprising and evaporative fluid, the membrane removably disposed in direct contact with the component and configured to span at least one cooling hole while positioned essentially perpendicular to an exhausted working fluid flow direction;
• an imager configured to capture a time series of images corresponding to a transient evaporative response of the exhausted working fluid, wherein the evaporative response corresponds to a plurality of temperature values for the exhausted working fluid after passage through the evaporative membrane;
• and
• a processor operably connected to the imager comprising a circuit configured to determine the transient evaporative response of the exhausted working fluid wherein the exhausted working fluid flow is evaporatively cooled where the cooling hole permits sufficient exhausted working fluid flow through the cooling hole to meet a desired specification.