Improved method for absolute thermal contrast evaluation using Source Distribution Image (SDI)

This article proposes a new method for appropriate selection of the sane point regions which are used in absolute thermal contrast evaluation. The method takes into account the Source Distribution Image (SDI) during the selection of the sane points corresponding to the previously determined defective region points. The SDI approach is based on the principle of equal excitation energy and therefore enables the minimization of errors in absolute thermal contrast evaluation due to non-uniform heating. When compared to numerical results, the absolute thermal contrasts determined this way have proved to be more accurate than in cases where other decision criteria are used for sane points selection. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.