Simultaneous Transient Temperature Sensing of Impacted Polymers Using Infrared Detectors and Thermocouples

Infrared detectors are probably the most popular device used for transient temperature monitoring of materials deformed in the high strain-rate regime. Embedded thermocouples have also been shown to be suitable for that purpose, especially with poor thermal conductors such as polymers [Rittel, Exp Mech 38(2), 73–79, 1998b]. However, there is no direct comparison between these two techniques. This paper presents experiments during which commercial polycarbonate specimens were deformed dynamically, while the surface and core temperatures were monitored using an infrared detector and embedded thermocouple respectively. An excellent agreement was obtained between the two techniques, confirming the suitability of thermocouples for transient temperature sensing.