Modern trends in the application of thermoelectric method in non-destructive testing (review)

The article provides an overview of the main directions of using the thermoelectric testing method in various spheres of the national economy. The thermoelectric method is most widely used in industry. There are publications on the application of the thermoelectric method for quality monitoring of turning and friction stir welding. It is shown that the thermoelectric method makes it possible to increase the reliability of testing and, based on testing data, ensure optimal modes of the technological process of metalworking and welding. A number of articles are devoted to the application of the thermoelectric method to plastic deformation testing, the dependence of thermal EMF on the degree of plastic deformation is revealed. Recently, publications have appeared on the application of the thermoelectric method to testing the thermal resistance of the design “housing of a power semiconductor device-thermal interface-cooling radiator”. This design is very widespread in electronic equipment. In addition, there are articles on the use of the thermoelectric method to testing the transient resistance of contacts in the power supply network. It is shown that with an increase in contact resistance, the value of thermal EMF increases proportionally, which can be used to prevent emergencies in the power supply network. The thermoelectric method has also been successfully applied to diagnose the degree of titanium flooding. The dependence of the thermal EMF value on the degree of hydrogenation has been revealed. The use of the thermoelectric method is not limited to the field of industrial production. The thermoelectric method is successfully used in medicine for the undetectable detection of nucleic acid sequences, for the temperature diagnosis of human teeth, as well as for the diagnosis of inflammatory processes in the human body.