Digital Image Correlation in Materials Testing

Digital Image Correlation (DIC) plays a growing role in (not restricted to) destructive characterization of structural materials. The advantage lies in the possibility of visualizing large areas for occurring deformations and strains of the object of interest under different loading conditions. This non-contact metrology is applicable to almost every material class, making its applicability almost infinite. It is not only used for the determination of material properties or for quality testing in manufacturing but also for test inspection. The seminar describes theory and application of Digital Image Correlation for selected standardized and common state-of-the-art tests, for the mechanical characterization of structural materials under common loading conditions. The purpose of this seminar is to provide good practice guidelines for setting up and conducting Digital Image Correlation measurements in conjunction with mechanical testing of test specimens in general-purpose laboratory conditions. In order to obtain accurate and representative material data, it is important being minute and careful when planning, performing, and evaluating experiments. Many inherent difficulties of tensile, shear, flexure, and fracture testing are addressed where pertinent measurement issues are visualized with DIC. The more you see, the less you can hide. Digital Image Correlation offers a new look at old problems of structural mechanics, presenting a detailed insight into mechanical testing of materials, which cannot be covered by point measurements.