Abstract
In this paper, electronic shearography (ES) was used to inspect defects in three types of pressure vessels, i.e. hollow rectangular block, cylindrical shell and cylindrical shell with two concentric hollow cylinders (hereinafter called hollow cylinders). Artificial defects of different edge lengths, shapes and depths were fabricated on the selected locations in the vessels. Anomaly of the interference fringe pattern obtained from the ES indicates the existence of the defects. To inspect the defects in the hollow cylinders, in conjunction with the Michelson interferometer, a cone made of stainless steel with polished surface was prepared to reflect the optical image to the CCD camera. To determine the correct location of the defect, computer programs were successfully developed to transform the image and analyze the fringe pattern obtained. © 2008 Society for Experimental Mechanics Inc.