Diverger Lens Motion Compensation Shearography
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current shearography methods from moving platforms face challenges due to motion-induced speckle field correlation issues, requiring complex and expensive optical systems with mechanical components that reduce laser power and introduce errors through mechanical parts and complex algorithms.
Innovation Solution
A laser transmission apparatus using multiple laser beams and beam paths with a diverger lens to compensate for platform movement, eliminating the need for moving parts and maintaining laser power, creating identical laser images from different spatial positions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If mechanical components (mirrors, lenses) are moved quickly to compensate for platform motion, then motion compensation is achieved, but device complexity and maintenance requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical moving components with a fixed optical system using a diverger lens. Instead of physically moving mirrors or lenses to track platform motion, the system uses a stationary diverger lens that optically compensates for motion by creating divergent beam paths that account for platform displacement between successive measurements.
Solution Approach 2:
The diverger lens acts as an intermediary optical element that mediates between the fixed laser source and the moving platform. It creates intermediate virtual image positions that compensate for platform motion, allowing the system to achieve motion compensation without direct mechanical tracking.
2Reliability
If mechanical components are used for motion compensation, then platform motion can be tracked, but laser power is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
By replacing mechanical beam steering components with a fixed diverger lens system, the patent eliminates power losses associated with mechanical scanners, mirrors, and moving parts. The optical system maintains full laser power while achieving motion compensation through the geometric properties of divergent beams.
3Reliability
If complex algorithms and additional motion compensation devices are used, then motion effects can be corrected, but measurement accuracy is reduced due to introduced errors
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces complex computational correction algorithms with a straightforward optical solution. The diverger lens provides inherent motion compensation through its optical geometry, eliminating the need for complex data processing and variable introduction that can corrupt measurements.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates optical copies (virtual images) of the target surface at different apparent positions corresponding to platform motion. These optical copies are formed directly by the diverger lens geometry, providing accurate motion compensation without requiring computational reconstruction or data transformation.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution effectively compensates for platform motion without reducing laser power and eliminates the need for complex mechanical systems, providing accurate shearography measurements from moving platforms with reduced maintenance and error.
Implementation Method 1
a diverger lens within both of the first and second beam paths, wherein the first beam and the second beam through the diverger lens are used to make a shearography measurement
Data Source
AI summary
A laser transmission apparatus utilizing multiple laser beams and beam paths with a diverger lens to provide an illumination pattern that can compensate for lateral movement of the platform during shearography is provided. Further, this optical setup requires no moving parts and does not reduce power of the laser beams as they move through the individual components thereof. From the perspective of the surface being scanned or inspected, the present disclosure may provide two laser images of a single surface that appear to be identical despite the fact that they were taken from two different spatial positions of the moving platform.