M. R.

Jones
Thermal Tomographic Detection
Assoc. Mem. ASME of Inhomogeneities
A. Tezuka Thermal tomography is a nondestructive method for detecting inhomogeneities in a
material by localizing variations in its thermal conductivity. Based on a finite element
discretization of the heat conduction equation, we obtain a set of equations that relate
Y. Yamada the conductivity of a medium to temperature measurements on the surface of the
medium. We investigate the use of both a linearization and regularization technique
Biomechanics Division, and a randomized search procedure based on a genetic algorithm to invert this set
Mechanical Engineering Laboratory, of equations. We found a tradeoff exists between the accuracy of the conductivity
Agency of Industrial Science and mapping and the resolution of the conductivity mapping. To increase the resolution
Technology, of the mapping, we propose a zooming method in which the finite elements are
1-2 Namiki, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305 Japan grouped into blocks and a low-resolution mapping of the conductivity is obtained.
Improved mappings are then obtained by increasing the number of blocks in regions
where inhomogeneities appear to be present and repeating the inversion process.

Introduction on the surface of a medium. Another approach to the nonde-

Inverse heat conduction problems may be broadly categorized
as either design problems or parameter identification problems.
Inverse design problems are generally concerned with using
temperature measurements obtained from sensors imbedded
within a structure or material to determine the heat flux or
temperature profile on a specified boundary. Boundary heat
fluxes or temperature profiles are required in various engi-
neering design problems such as the development of quenching
processes, the selection of the sizes and locations of coolant
passages in turbine blades, or the design of insulator surfaces
for re-entry space vehicles. Inverse parameter identification
problems are generally concerned with determining the thermal
conductivity or heat capacity of materials from measurements
of the temperature or heat flux on the boundary. Thermal tomog-
raphy is an example of an inverse parameter identification prob-
lem. In thermal tomography, a mapping of the spatial distribu-
tion of the thermal conductivity of a medium is sought. Since
thermal conductivity is a material property, a mapping of the
thermal conductivity will indicate the location of voids or other
inhomogeneities. Thermal tomography is a noninvasive and
nondestructive method of evaluating materials and structures,
so the development of thermal tomography is of considerable
interest (Bonnet et al., 1993).
Hensel (1991) reviews the work done on inverse thermal
problems from a historical perspective and gives an extensive
overview of the literature published in this area. Based on this
review, it appears that most of the published work deals with
inverse design problems. Several authors have noted that analyt-
ical and computational methods for solving inverse heat conduc-
tion problems have generally been restricted to one-dimensional
cases (Hensel, 1991; Murio, 1993). Orlande and Ozisik (1993)
note that most of the work on parameter identification problems
has focused on determining the temperature dependence of ther-
mophysical properties. There appears to be relatively little pub-
lished work that deals specifically with the problem of thermal
tomography.
The papers by Banks et al. (1990) and Kojima (1993) are
two papers that focus specifically on thermal tomography. These
papers demonstrate how the methods used in inverse shape
design can be used to detect corrosion, cracks, or other flaws
Contributed by the Heat Transfer Division for publication in the JOURNAL OF
HEAT TRANSFER. Manuscript received by the Heat Transfer Division October
1.994; revision received June 1995. Keywords: Conduction, Measurement Tech-
niques, Thermophysical Properties. Associate Technical Editor: M. F. Modest.
structive detection of voids is described by Dulikravich and
Martin (1993). They determine the size and location of a void
by randomly placing voids throughout a medium. The boundary
element method is used to calculate the temperature profile
on the outer surface of the medium while adiabatic boundary
conditions are enforced on the surfaces of the voids. The sensi-
tivity of the measurements to the size, shape, and location of
each void is determined by using a perturbation analysis. The
results of this sensitivity analysis are used to modify each void
and the entire analysis is repeated. The size and location of an
elliptical void and a crack were determined using this method,
but it was required that the forward problem be solved several
hundred times. In addition, parametric representations of the
voids are required in order to implement this method.
As illustrated by the algorithm developed by Dulikravich and
Martin (1993), techniques for solving inverse problems are
generally iterative and require the repeated solution of the asso-
ciated forward problem. We use a finite element method (FEM)
to solve the forward problem in this study. Based on a finite
element discretization of the steady-state heat equation, we de-
rive a set of equations that relate the thermal conductivity of a
medium to measurements of the temperature on the surface of
the medium. We obtain a mapping of the thermal conductivity
distribution by inverting this set of equations. Techniques for
inverting nonlinear equations can be generally classified as ei-
ther linearization techniques or as random search techniques.
We investigate the application of both a linearization technique
and a genetic algorithm based random search technique to ther-
mal tomography.
The linearization technique we apply in this study is based
on techniques that are currently being applied in the develop-
ment of optical computed tomography (Arridge, 1993). The
result of the linearization process is a set of equations whose
coefficient matrix is not necessarily square and is generally ill
conditioned. Solutions to this system of equations are obtained
using a generalized inverse and a regularization procedure. In
order to obtain accurate mappings using the linearization and
regularization technique, we found it is necessary to reduce the
resolution of the mappings. The tradeoff between resolution
and accuracy is a difficulty commonly encountered in inverse
problems, which can be easily understood by studying the inver-
sion procedure of Backus and Gilbert (Hills and Mulholland,
1979; Press et al, 1992). We show that improvements in the
resolution of the mappings are obtained by applying the linear-
ization and regularization technique in an iterative procedure
we call the zooming method.

Journal of Heat Transfer NOVEMBER 1995, Vol. 1 1 7 / 9 6 9

Copyright © 1995 by ASME

Downloaded From: http://heattransfer.asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/ on 04/28/2015 Terms of Use: http://asme.org/terms

0 0.1L 0.2L 0.3L 0.4L 0.5L 0.6L 0.7L 0.8L 0.9L L
Insulated Boundary
Fig. 1 Finite element model used to solve the forward problem
We also consider the application of a genetic algorithm to
the problem of thermal tomography. Genetic algorithms are
randomized procedures that employ the mechanics of natural
selection in the search process (Goldberg, 1989). We create
an initial population of conductivity distributions by randomly
selecting the conductivity of a group of elements. We then use
each of the randomly selected distributions to solve the forward
problem, and we determine the fitness of each distribution by
comparing the solution with the measurement set. Based on
their relative fitness values, the conductivity distributions are
reproduced and combined to create a new generation of conduc-
tivity distributions. The process of duplicating and combining
conductivity distributions is repeated until convergence is ob-
tained. We show that the resolution of conductivity mapping
obtained using a genetic algorithm is also improved by using
the zooming method.
Problem Statement
We will describe the techniques for solving the problem of
thermal tomography by considering the two-dimensional prob-
lem illustrated in Fig. 1. Boundary surface temperature measure-
ments are used to detect an inhomogeneity in an otherwise
homogeneous medium. The nondimensionalized governing
equation and boundary conditions are given by
T =0 x = 0
V • kVT = 0 7=1 x =1
(1)
n • kVT = 0 y = 0, 1
where T = {T* - TL)ITH, k = k*lkh, x = x*IL, and y = y*IL.
The finite element model shown in Fig. 1 is used to solve
the forward problem. The mesh is composed of 200 identical
triangular elements and 121 nodes. An inhomogeneity exits in
the region covered by elements 115 and 116. Since linear shape
functions are used in the finite element model, the conductivity
of each element is the average of the conductivity distribution
throughout the element (Kikuchi, 1986). We restrict our atten-
tion to cases where the conductivity of the inhomogeneity is
much less than the bulk conductivity. In the current problem,
the shape and conductivity of the inhomogeneity are such that
the average nondimensional conductivity of elements 115 and
116 is 0.01. The temperature is specified along the x = 0 and
x = 1 boundaries, so the "temperature of 22 of the 40 surface
nodes are specified. We use the temperatures at the remaining
18 surface nodes as inputs to the inversion algorithm.
In order to verify grid independence, we doubled the number
of nodes in both the x and y directions. This resulted in a
fourfold increase in the number of elements in the finite element
model. The temperatures obtained using the 200 element model
agreed with those obtained using the 800 element model to
within less than 1.0 percent. The maximum difference in the
temperatures (0.97 percent) occurred near the inhomogeneity,
and the differences elsewhere were much less. Since only the
temperatures along the insulated boundaries are used in the
inversion procedure, the 200 element model is sufficiently accu-
rate.
With the finite element model completely specified, each of
the m measured temperatures is a function of the conductivity
distribution.
T„[k(xy y)] = M„ for p = 1, (2)
We seek to localize any inhomogeneities by inverting Eq. (2)
and mapping k(x, y) throughout the domain.
Linearization and Regularization Inversion Tech-
nique
Nonlinear equations such as those represented in Eq. (2) may
be solved by linearization. Weuse Newton's method to linearize
Eq. (2). Newton's method is an iterative technique that uses a
truncated Taylor's series to improve on an initial guess of the
conductivity distribution. For the pth measurement
FIT'
r' +1 Tp +
dk' q (3)
where Ak'q = k'q+1 — k'q and / is the iteration number. The
change in the conductivity distribution is obtained by setting
the right-hand side of Eq. (3) equal to the measured temperature
Mp. Since the matrix containing the derivatives is commonly
referred to as the Jacobian matrix (Strang, 1986), we set
{dT'pldk'q) equal to 3pq. The relationship between the measure-
ments and the change in the conductivity distribution may be
rewritten as

Nomenclature
/ = fitness function pv = void probability r = perturbation in the tempera-
J = Jacobian matrix S = stiffness matrix ture field
L = dimension of the plate T = temperature || • || = vector norm
kh = bulk thermal conductivity TH = high temperature
k = local thermal conductivity TL = low temperature Subscripts
M = measured temperatures x, y = coordinate axes c = crossover
m = number of measurements Ak = difference between the new and i, j , p, q = indices
n = unit normal old conductivity distributions
n = population number Superscripts
emax = maximum value of the error norm
pc = crossover probability K = perturbation in the thermal con- i = iteration index
p,„ = mutation probability ductivity * = dimensional quantity
ps = selection probability

970 / Vol. 117, NOVEMBER 1995 Transactions of the ASME

Downloaded From: http://heattransfer.asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/ on 04/28/2015 Terms of Use: http://asme.org/terms

 J;,A/4 = MP rn (4)
Randomly select the initial
Equation (4) is solved for Ak', and Ak' is used to obtain a population of conductivity
new estimate of the conductivity distribution, k'+'. This process distributions.

I
is repeated until both \\M — r'|[ and ||Afe'|| converge.
Since an analytical expression for the Jacobian matrix is not
easily obtained, we must approximate the Jacobian matrix. We
obtain an approximation by first assuming an initial conductivity
distribution k' and using our finite element model to find the Calculate the error for each
temperature field V. A simple and direct method of approximat- distribution. Stop if the
ing the Jacobian would be to perturb the conductivity of the average error of all the
qth finite element by an amount Kq, formulate the finite element distributions is not less than
equations based on the perturbed conductivity distribution, and the average error from the
calculate the perturbed temperature field. The pth element of previous.seen
generation.
the qth. column of the Jacobian matrix could then be calculated
from

(5) Reproduce the

distributions based on
where TP is the resulting change in the temperature at the pth relative fitness values.
measurement site. When the Jacobian is approximated in this
manner, the linearization procedure is referred to as quasi-New-
ton's method (Strang, 1986).
Although conceptually simple and direct, this method re-
quires that the finite element equations be formulated and solved
for each perturbation. A more computationally efficient method
I
Create a new generation
using crossover and
mutation operators.
of approximating the Jacobian matrix has been proposed by
Arridge et al. (1991). A perturbation K in the conductivity Fig. 2 Structure of a genetic algorithm
distribution will cause a temperature field to change by an
amount T.
If we allow the conductivity of each finite element to vary
V -{k1 + K)V(T + T) = 0 (6) independently, the dimensions of the Jacobian matrix will be p
by q, where p is the number of measurements and q is the
Neglecting second-order terms in the expansion of Eq. (6), we number of finite elements. Since q is much larger than p, the
obtain the following expression: system of equations represented by Eq. (4) will be highly under-
determined. In order to reduce the number of columns of the
V • kVr = - V • KVT' (7) Jacobian matrix, it is necessary to group the elements into
Applying our finite element model to Eq. (7) gives blocks and perturb the conductivity of each element in a block
by the same amount. This procedure will make the Jacobian
Sk'T -sj> (8) less underdetermined, but it will also reduce the resolution of
the mapping. In order to improve the resolution of the mapping,
where Sk> is the stiffness matrix based on the conductivity distri- we propose the use of the zooming method. In the zooming
bution k', and SK is the stiffness matrix based on the perturbation method, we initially group all the interior finite elements into
K. Since Ski does not depend on the perturbation, S?1 is only large blocks and obtain a low resolution mapping. Based on
calculated once per iteration. Once Sp 1 is known, the perturba- this preliminary mapping, we increase the number of blocks in
tion in the temperature field may be easily calculated for each regions of the domain where an inhomogeneity appears to exist.
perturbation in the conductivity distribution. The conductivity of the elements outside of the region of interest
is held constant at the value of the bulk conductivity. The inver-
SV SKT, (9) sion procedure is then repeated and a higher resolution mapping
is obtained.
In applying Eq. (9), we are still required to formulate the finite
We used the linearization and regularization method with
element equations for each perturbation. However, this method
improvement by the zooming method to invert Eq. (4) and map
provides a significant computational savings since it is not nec-
the conductivity distribution of a two dimensional plate. The
essary to invert SK.
results of these inversions will be presented after a brief descrip-
After obtaining an approximation for the Jacobian matrix
tion of the genetic algorithm based inversion method.
using Eq. (5), we are faced with the problem of solving Eq.
(4) for Ak'. Since the Jacobian is not necessarily a square
matrix and is generally ill conditioned, we cannot invert J' using Genetic Algorithm Inversion Technique
classical matrix inversion techniques. The difficulty associated Genetic algorithms are randomized search procedures, which
with the fact that the Jacobian is not square is overcome by are based on the principle of natural selection or survival of the
using the singular value decomposition to calculate a general- fittest. Genetic algorithms have recently been applied to a wide
ized inverse or pseudo-inverse. Strang (1988) explains how to variety of optimization problems and have been found to be
calculate the singular value decomposition and how to deter- very robust (Goldberg, 1989). Genetic algorithms only require
mine the pseudo-inverse of a matrix. Regularization methods the copying and swapping of strings, so their implementation
are used to deal with the problems cause by the ill-conditioned is extremely simple. The structure of a typical genetic algorithm
nature of the Jacobian. We use both truncated singular value is shown in Fig. 2. The following paragraphs contain brief
regularization and Tikhonov regularization in this study. De- descriptions of each of these steps. A complete description of
scriptions of these regularization techniques are also available theory of genetic algorithms is given by Goldberg (1989), and
in the literature (Press et al., 1992; Arridge, 1993; Jones et al, a more complete description of the algorithm used in this study
1995). is given by Jones et al. (1995).

Journal of Heat Transfer NOVEMBER 1995, Vol. 1 1 7 / 9 7 1

Downloaded From: http://heattransfer.asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/ on 04/28/2015 Terms of Use: http://asme.org/terms

 The first step in a genetic algorithm is the selection of an
initial population. We estimate the probability p„ that an inho-
mogeneity will exist within any particular element or block
of elements and then generate a large number of conductivity
distributions in which the conductivity of 100p„ percent of the
elements or blocks of elements is equal to a randomly selected
value between zero and the bulk conductivity.
The second step is to define a function that will determine
the fitness of each distribution. Since the progress of a genetic
algorithm depends largely on the fitness function, selection of an
appropriate function is a key step. In cases where the objective
is naturally expressed as the minimization of some function,
Goldberg (1989) recommends the following fitness function:
/(*') HT(t') - M|| (10)
where emm is the largest value of the error norm in the current
generation.
The third step is to copy randomly selected distributions into
the reproduction pool. The probability that a particular distribu-
tion will be selected for reproduction, ps, is determined by its
fitness relative to the fitness of all the other distributions in the
same generation. The reproduction operator is controlled such
that there is a high probability that distributions with average
fitness values are copied into the reproduction pool once.
The fourth step is to create a new generation of distributions
by applying the crossover and mutation operators to the distribu-
tions in the reproduction pool. In order to apply these operators,
it is first necessary to digitize each element of the conductivity
distributions using five bit binary strings. After digitizing.each
distribution in the reproduction pool, we randomly extract two
digitized distributions and generate a random number, which
determines whether or not the selected distributions are crossed.
If the random number is greater than the crossover probability,
pc, the selected distributions are copied directly into the new
generation, and if the random number is less than or equal to
pc, each partial string of one distribution is exchanged with the
corresponding partial string of the other distribution. As in the
crossover operation, we determine whether or not a mutation
will occur by generating a random number and comparing it to
the mutation probability, p,„.
The final step consists of decoding each of the digitized con-
ductivity distributions and using the finite element model to
calculate the temperature field. We then repeat the fitness func-
tion calculations and repeat the cycle until the average error of
the conductivity distributions stops decreasing.
If the error norm of the best distribution is sufficiently small
and the resolution of the mapping is acceptable, the solution is
obtained. Otherwise, the zooming method may be used to im-
prove the conductivity mappings. Based on the best conductivity
mapping currently available, we increase the number of blocks
in regions of the domain where an inhomogeneity appears to
exist and repeat the inversion process. The results obtained
using the genetic algorithm are discussed and compared with
the results obtained using the linearization and regularization
technique in the following sections.
Results of the Linearization and Regularization Tech-
nique
We first attempted to obtain the conductivity distribution us-
ing the linearization and regularization technique in which the
conductivity of each element was allowed to vary indepen-
dently. This initial conductivity mapping is shown in Fig. 3.
This mapping was obtained using truncated singular value regu-
larization. The conductivity mapping obtained using Tikhonov
regularization (not shown) is very similar to the mapping ob-
tained using truncated singular value regularization. In this case,
the Jacobian has dimensions of 18 by 200, so Eq. (4) represents
a highly underdetermined system of equations. Not surprisingly,
972 / Vol. 117, NOVEMBER 1995
Downloaded From: http://heattransfer.asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/ on 04/28/2015 Terms of Use: http://asme.org/terms
-1.05 kj,
l.Ui.
0.8L
, i ' *»
''*V ' ,
0.6L -
-1.00 k h
0.4L _ * ,.' ^*,'''
'*• * i *
** *** $-i
0.2L , t , ' , * '
- \. .;' .V'jJy,
0.0 1 • I 1
-0.95 kK
Fig. 3 Conductivity distribution obtained by using truncated singular
value regularization. The conductivity of each element was allowed to
vary independently. \\T[k') - M\\ = 7.9 x K T 1 5 .
the conductivity distributions obtained using such a highly un-
derdetermined system differ greatly from the actual conductivity
distribution. However, it is interesting to note that the norm of
the error vector, \\T(k') - M\\, is very small. This result high-
lights the ill-posed nature of the problem of thermal tomography
by clearly showing that more than one conductivity distribution
will result in boundary temperatures that are nearly identical to
the measurement set.
Improved mappings are obtained by using the zooming
method. Figure 4 ( a ) shows the conductivity mapping obtained
when the elements were grouped into 25 blocks of 8 elements
and truncated singular value regularization was used. Figure
4(b) shows the mapping obtained using the same grouping of
elements and Tikhonov regularization. Based on Figs. 4(a, b),
we conclude that any inhomogeneities present in the medium
lie in the region defined by 0.5L < x =s 0.8L and 0.5L =s y <
0.9L. In order to increase the resolution of the mapping, we
allowed the conductivity of the 24 elements in this region to
vary independently and repeated the inversion process. The con-
ductivities of the elements outside of this region were held fixed
at kh. The improved mapping obtained using truncated singular
value regularization is shown in Fig. 5 ( a ) , and the improved
mapping obtained using Tikhonov regularization is shown in
Fig. 5(b). The position of the inhomogeneity is accurately indi-
cated in both Fig. 5(a) and Fig. 5(b), but artifacts are also
present in both mappings. The artifacts are less prominent in
the mapping obtained using Tikhonov regularization, but the
error norm of this mapping is slightly larger than the error
norm of the mapping obtained using truncated singular value
regularization. Typical convergence curves obtained using both
truncated singular value regularization and Tikhonov regulariza-
tion are shown in Fig. 6. The inversion procedure converges
faster when truncated singular value regularization is used. In
order to obtain Fig. 5 ( a ) , it was necessary to solve the forward
problem a total of 10 times. The forward problem was solved
a total of 130 times in order to obtain Fig. 5(b).
Note that although the conductivity distributions shown in
Figs. 5(a, b) resemble the actual conductivity distribution, the
error norms of these conductivity distributions are larger than
the error norms of the conductivity distribution shown in Fig. 4.
Obviously, an error norm based solely on the boundary surface
temperature measurements is not a sufficient measure of the
quality of a solution. Additional information is necessary to
decide which of the conductivity distributions shown in Figs.
3 and 5 is the most accurate representation of the actual conduc-
Transactions of the ASME
 l.OL- 1.0L-

0.8L- 0.8L-

0.6L- 0.6L-

-Tl.Ui -1.4 kv
0.4L- 0.4L-

0.2L- 0.2L-

•1.0 kv
0.0' 0.0 i - | , - | - f | -i - | - - , -

oo r :L n -i iii,; n •* i nL 0 0.2L 0.4L 0.6L 0.8L 1.0L

•1.0 k„

I.OL- 1.0L-
"0.6 K

0.8L- 0.8L-

0.6L- 0.6L-
•0.9 k ,
-0-2 K

0.4L- 0.4L-

0.2L-
0.2L-

0.0- - [ i | —i 1 • J—T
0.0
0.0 0.2L 0.4L 0.6L 0.8L 1.0L
0 0 0.2L 0.4L 0.6L 0.8L 1.0L
Fig. 5(a) Conductivity distribution obtained by using truncated singular
Fig. 4(a) Conductivity distribution obtained by using truncated singular value regularization. The conductivities of the elements outside the
value regularization. The elements were grouped into blocks of eight
ro.5
0.5t == x 0.8LJ region were held fixed at kh. The conductivities
elements, and the conductivities of all the elements in a block were
varied by the same amount. \\T{k') - M\\ = 2.4 x 10~ 5 . (b) Conductivity 15L == y
[0.5 0.9LJ
distribution obtained by using Tikhonov regularization. The elements of the elements in this region varied independently, ||7"(/c,) - M\\ = 2.4 x
were grouped into blocks of eight elements, and the conductivities of all 10~ 5 . (t>) Conductivity distribution obtained by using Tikhonov regu-
the elements in a block were varied by the same amount. ||7"(fc') - M\\ = larization. The conductivities of the elements outside the
2.5 X 1 0 s .
0.51. x == 0.8t.| region were held fixed at fch. The conductivities
0.5L y s 0.9LJ
of the elements in this region varied independently. \\T(k,) - M\\ = 2.B x
tivity distribution. In some cases, this additional information 10" 5 .
may be known a priori. For example, if we know a priori that
.any inhomogeneities in the medium are voids, we could then
reasonably choose either of the mappings shown in Fig. 5 as
the best representations of the conductivity distribution. If such
a priori information is not available, additional measurements
such as boundary heat flux measurements or time-dependent
temperature measurements might provide sufficient additional
information. Such additional measurements may also help to
eliminate the artifacts that appear in Figs. 5(a, b).

Results of the Genetic Algorithm Based Method

Figures 7 (a, b) show the conductivity distributions we re-
trieved using a genetic algorithm based inversion procedure.
The mapping shown in Fig. 7(a) was obtained when the ele-
ments were grouped into 25 blocks containing 8 elements each. '
Again we used the zooming method to improve the resolution
of the conductivity mapping. Based on Fig. 7 ( a ) , we focused
in on the region defined by 0.6L == x < 0.8L and 0.4L < y =£ 6
0.6Z, and repeated the inversion process. The improved mapping io-
shown in Fig. 7(b) is identical to the actual conductivity distri- 10 20 25 30
bution. The control parameters used in the inversion process Iteration Number

are listed in Table 1. These parameters were simply selected Fig. 6 Typical convergence curves for the linearization and regulariza-
based on the recommendations of Goldberg (1989). However, tion inversion method

Journal of Heat Transfer NOVEMBER 1995, Vol. 1 1 7 / 9 7 3

Downloaded From: http://heattransfer.asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/ on 04/28/2015 Terms of Use: http://asme.org/terms

 l.OL : 1 1 1 1

0.8L-
io-2 - -

0.6L-
~~ ^ " — 9
r
'
-1,0 k v
—9— Low Resolution Mapping, Minimum Error
0.4L- —B— Low Resolution Mapping, Average Error
—B— High Resolution Mapping, Minimum Error
—B— High Resolution Mapping, Average Error
- 0 . 8 kv. -
0.2L

io-5
i i i i

_, ! , ! , !—, !—r -0.6 kv

0.0 0.2L 0.4L 0.6L 0.8L l.OL 0 1 2 3 4 5

Generation Number

-0.4 kv Fig. 8 Typical convergence curves for the genetic algorithm based in-
l.OL version method

0.8L -0.2 kv and truncated singular value regularization, the genetic algo-
rithm is computationally intensive.
0.6L-
-°-° Summary and Conclusions
Thermal tomography is a technique that may be used to detect
0.4L inhomogeneities in a material by localizing variations in the
thermal conductivity. In this paper we demonstrate the use of
a finite element model to obtain a set of equations that relate
0.2L- the conductivity of a two-dimensional plate to its surface tem-
peratures. We investigated two fundamentally different ap-
proaches for inverting this set of equations and retrieving the
conductivity distribution of the plate.
0.2L 0.4L 0.6L 0.8L l.OL Our first approach was to use a quasi-Newton's method to
Fig. 7(a) Conductivity distribution obtained by using a genetic algo- linearize the relationship between the conductivity distribution
rithm. The elements were grouped into blocks of eight elements, and and the surface temperatures. The linearized set of equations
the conductivities of both elements in a block were varied by the same was solved using a generalized inverse and two different regu-
amount. \\T{k,) — M|| = 1.3 x 10 3 . (fa) Conductivity distribution obtained
by using a genetic algorithm. The conductivities of the elements outside
larization techniques. We found that the inversion procedure
converged faster when truncated singular value regularization
the [°-5L =s x s 0.8L j r e g j 0 n w e r e n e |d fixed at kh. The conductivi- was used, but the mapping of the conductivity distribution ob-
[0.5L == y == 0.9tj tained using Tikhonov regularization more closely resembled
ties of the elements in this region varied independently. ||T(k,) - M\\ = 0.
the actual conductivity distribution.
The results obtained using the linearization and regularization
method clearly show that boundary surface temperatures alone
these parameters play an important role in the performance of do not uniquely specify the conductivity distribution. In order
the inversion algorithm, so further work is needed to clarify to obtain a mapping of the conductivity distribution that resem-
the effect and determine the optimal value of each of these bled the actual conductivity distribution, it was necessary to
parameters. assume that the conductivity of the inhomogeneity is much less
Convergence curves for the genetic algorithm are shown in than the bulk conductivity. Based on this assumption, we were
Fig. 8. The value of the error norm corresponding to the best able to reject the mapping shown in Fig. 3 as a possible solution.
distribution and the average of the error norms for all the distri- The need for this assumption may be eliminated if additional
butions in the population are shown in Fig. 8. Complete analysis measurements such as heat flux measurements on the tempera-
of the entire population of distributions required that the forward ture specified boundaries or transient temperature measurements
problem be solved 200 times per generation. Therefore, the are incorporated into the inversion process. Further research
forward problem was solved 2000 times in order to obtain the should be conducted to determine whether such additional mea-
conductivity distributions shown in Fig. 1(b). Since it was only surements will uniquely specify the conductivity distribution.
necessary to solve the forward problem 10 times to obtain the The results of this study also illustrate the tradeoff between
mappings shown in Fig. 5 ( a ) using the linearization technique accuracy and resolution that generally occurs when obtaining
solutions to inverse problems. As a way to increase the resolu-
tion without decreasing the accuracy of the mappings, we pro-
pose the use of the zooming method. In the zooming method,
Table 1 Control parameters for the genetic algorithm all elements are initially grouped into a blocks, and a low-
n 200 resolution mapping is obtained. We then zoom in on the inho-
mogeneity by increasing the number of blocks in regions of
Pv 0.1 the domain where an inhomogeneity appears to be present and
Pc 0.6 repeating the inversion process. This process is repeated until
P,n 0.01/n
a mapping with sufficient resolution is obtained. The location

974 / Vol. 117, NOVEMBER 1995 Transactions of the ASME

Downloaded From: http://heattransfer.asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/ on 04/28/2015 Terms of Use: http://asme.org/terms

 of the inhomogeneity is accurately indicated in the mappings
obtained using the linearization and regularization method in
conjunction with the zooming method, but these mappings also
contain a few artifacts. Information provided by time-resolved
or heat flux measurements may also help to eliminate these
artifacts.
The second approach we investigated involved the use of a
genetic algorithm. Genetic algorithms are search procedures that
employ the mechanics of natural selection. An exact mapping
of the conductivity distribution was obtained using a genetic
algorithm and the zooming method. However, the genetic algo-
rithm based inversion procedure is computationally intensive
compared to the linearization technique. Genetic algorithms also
require that a number of control parameters be specified. Further
research is needed to clarify the effect of each of these parame-
ters and to develop methods of selecting the optimal value of
each of these control parameters.
For simplicity, we only considered a two-dimensional square
domain containing a single inhomogeneity in this study. How-
ever, the methods developed in this paper are directly applicable
to three-dimensional problems and to problems involving multi-
ple inhomogeneities. It should also be noted that the algorithms
were tested using an idealized numerical experiment. Compari-
son of these methods should be continued under more realistic
situations in which the effects of random noise in the measure-
ments and the presence of multiple voids are considered.
References
Arridge, S, R., van der Zee, P., Cope, M., and Delpy, D. T., 1991, "Reconstruc-
tion Methods for Infra-red Absorption Imaging," Proceedings of Time-Resolved
Spectroscopy and Imaging of Tissues, B. Chance, ed., SPIE Vol. 1431, pp. 2 0 4 -
215.
Arridge, S. R., 1993, "The Forward and Inverse Problems in Time Resolved
Infra-red Imaging,'' Medical Optical Tomography: Functional Imaging and Moni-
toring, G. J. Miiller et al., eds„ SPIE Vol. IS11, pp. 35-64.
Journal of Heat Transfer
Downloaded From: http://heattransfer.asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/ on 04/28/2015 Terms of Use: http://asme.org/terms
Banks, H. T., Kojima, F., and Winfree, W. P., 1990, "Boundary Estimation
Problems Arising in Thermal Tomography," Inverse Problems, Vol. 6, pp. 897-
921.
Bonnet, M., Bui, H. D., Maigre, H., and Planchard, J., 1993, "Identification
of Heat Conduction Coefficient: Application to Nondestructive Testing," Inverse
Problems in Engineering Mechanics, IUTAM Symposium Tokyo, 1992, M. Tanaka
and H. D. Bui, eds., Springer-Verlag, Berlin, pp. 475-487.
Dulikravich, G. S., and Martin, T. J., 1993, "Determination of Void Shapes,
Sizes, Numbers and Locations Inside an Object With Known Surface Tempera-
tures and Heat Fluxes," Inverse Problems in Engineering Mechanics, IUTAM
Symposium Tokyo, 1992, M. Tanaka and H. D. Bui, eds., Springer-Verlag, Berlin,
pp. 489-496.
Goldberg, D. E., 1989, Genetic Algorithms in Search, Optimization, and Ma-
chine Learning, Addison-Wesley Publishing Co., Reading, MA.
Hensel, E., 1991, Inverse Theory and Application for Engineers, Prentice-Hall,'
Englewood Cliffs, NI.
Hills, R. G., and Mulholland, G. P., 1979, "The Accuracy and Resolving Power
of One Dimensional Transient Heat Conduction Theory as Applied to Discrete
and Inaccurate Measurements," Int. J. Heat Mass Transfer, Vol. 22, pp. 1221-
1229.
Jones, M. R., Tezuka, A., and Yamada, Y., 1995, "Thermal Tomographic
Methods," Journal of Mechanical Engineering Laboratory, Tsukuba Ibaraki Ja-
pan, Vol. 49, pp. 32-43.
Kikuchi, N„ 1986, Finite Element Methods in Mechanics, Cambridge Univer-
sity Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
Kojima, F., 1993, " A Method for Disbond Detection in Thermal Tomography
by Domain Decomposition Method," Inverse Problems in Engineering Mechan-
ics, IUTAM Symposium Tokyo, 1992, M. Tanaka and H. D. Bui, eds., Springer-
Verlag, Berlin, pp. 517-525.
Murio, D. A., 1993, "On the Numerical Solution of the Two-Dimensional
Inverse Heat Conduction Problem by Discrete Mollification," Inverse Problems
in Engineering: Theory and Practice, N. Zabaras et al., eds., ASME, New York,
pp. 17-21.
Orlande, H. R. B., and Ozi§ik, M. N., 1993, "Determination of the Reaction
Function in a Reaction-Diffusion Parabolic Problem," Inverse Problems in Engi-
neering: Theory and Practice, N. Zabaras et al., eds., ASME, New York, pp.
117-124.
Press, W. H„ Teukolsky, S. A., Vetterling, W. T., and Flannery, B. P., 1992,
Numerical Recipes in Fortran, The Art of Scientific Computing, Cambridge Uni-
versity Press, New York.
Strang, G., 1986, Introduction to Applied Mathematics, Wellesley-Cambridge
Press, Wellesley, MA.
Strang, G., 1988, Linear Algebra and Its Applications, Harcourt Brace Jovano-
vich College Publishers, Fort Worth, TX.
NOVEMBER 1995, Vol. 1 1 7 / 9 7 5