Accurate full-field optical displacement measurement technique using a digital camera and repeated patterns.

In this study, a novel, fast, and accurate in-plane displacement distribution measurement method is proposed that uses a digital camera and arbitrary repeated patterns based on the moiré methodology. The key aspect of this method is the use of phase information of both the fundamental frequency and the high-order frequency components of the moiré fringe before and after deformations. Compared with conventional displacement methods and sensors, the main advantages of the method developed herein are its high resolution, accuracy, speed, low cost, and easy implementation. The effectiveness is confirmed by a simple in-plane displacement measurement experiment, and the experimental results indicate that an accuracy of 1/1000 of the pitch can be achieved for various repeated patterns. This method is useful for various applications ranging from the study of displacement and strain distributions in materials science, the biomimetics field, and mechanical material testing, to secure the integrity of infrastructures.