An Optoelectronic System for Real-Time Surface Deformation Measurements
The problem of measuring deformations is relevant for many branches of science and technology. Most often it is encountered in the automotive, construction and aircraft industries. In the latter case, deformation measurements are of vital importance due to a number of features specific to the industry. At present, the task of carrying out investigations in a flight experiment is of relevance in the aircraft industry. The international research projects called Advanced In-Flight Measurement Techniques (AIM and AIM2) are devoted to development of such methods. A new version of the videogrammetric method, called the Image Pattern Correlation Technique, has been proposed as a result of implementing these projects. The above mentioned technique, which is based on cross-correlation processing of images, has successfully been applied in performing flight tests for different aircraft types ranging from Evektor VUT100 Cobra to Airbus 380. The developed optoelectronic system for real-time measurements of 3D surface deformations is considered. The system is developed on the basis of the Image Pattern Correlation Technique and makes it possible to carry out measurements in a full-scale experiment and in real time. A detailed description of the method and the system constituent parts is given. An image processing algorithm implemented using the DeformVision software is presented. For checking the system operability, experimental studies using a deforming surface simulator were carried out. The study results have shown that the developed system has an accuracy of 0.5 mm on a surface area of 900 cm<sup>2</sup> at a displacement amplitude of 10 mm. The system software allows real-time measurements to be carried out at a rate of no less than 5 measurements per second.