Online Wear Detection Using High-Speed Imaging

Abstract In this paper, the change detection of a fast turning specimen is studied at micro-level, whereas the images are acquired without stopping the rotation. In the beginning of the experiment, the imaging system is focused on the surface of the specimen. By starting the rotation of the specimen, the diameter of the specimen changes due to wear, which results in de-focusing of the imaging system. So the amount of blur in the images can be used as evidence of the wear phenomenon. Due to the properties of the microscope, the corners of the frames were dark and had to be cropped. So, each micrograph reflects only a small area of the surface. Nevertheless, techniques like stitching of multiple images can provide a significant surface area for micro-level investigation which increases the effectiveness of analyzing the material modification. Based on the results computer vision could detect a change of about 1.2 µm in the diameter of the specimen. More important is that we could follow the same locations of the surface in the microscopic images despite blurring, uneven illumination, change on the surface, and relatively a high-speed rotation.