Multi-element thermoelectric non-destructive testing device and method
AssigneeTechnicorp
InventorWalter Tomasulo
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A non-destructive testing device and method in which information is obtained from a plurality of thermoelectric junctions made between an unknown material and a plurality of test elements of different known characteristics to provide data for identifying the unknown material.
Claims19
A non-destructive testing device used for identifying a given unknown material utilizing information obtained from a plurality of thermoelectric junctions established between the testing device and the unknown material, the testing device comprising:
- a plurality of thermoelectric junction-forming test elements, each test element having a known characteristic selected to be different from the corresponding selected known characteristics of the other test elements such that thermoelectric junctions established between the test elements and the given unknown material will produce different thermoelectric information for each junction;
- test means for presenting each test element to the given unknown material and establishing the thermoelectric
- information means for receiving the thermoelectric information from each thermoelectric junction and processing the thermoelectric information received from all the thermoelectric junctions to provide a set of composite characteristics for identifying the given unknown material based upon the set of composite characteristics derived from the thermoelectric information received from all of the thermoelectric junctions.
The non-destructive testing methdd for identifying a given unknown material utilizing information obtained from a plurality of thermoelectric junctions established between a testing device and the unknown material, the testing method comprising the steps of:
- providing a plurality of thermoelectric junction-forming test elements, each test element having a known characteristic selected to be different from the corresponding selected known characteristics of the other test elements such that thermoelectric junctions established between the test elements and the given unknown material will produce different thermoelectric information for each junction;
- presenting each test element to the given unknown material to establish the thermoelectric junctions;
- and
- receiving the thermoelectric information from each thermoelectric junction and processing the thermoelectric information received from all of the thermoelectric junctions to provide a set of composite characteristics for identifying the given unknown material based upon the set of composite characteristics derived from the thermoelectric information received from all of the thermoelectric junctions.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.