In-situ quality monitoring during additive manufacturing process using ultrasonic nondestructive testing

Abstract:

Metal additive manufacturing (AM), also known as metal 3D printing, is garnering attention in various manufacturing industries. Currently, advancements related to AM focus on the development of the AM process and material, and little progress has been made for quality assurance during the AM process. In this study, an in-situ quality monitoring technique during the AM process was developed using ultrasonic nondestructive testing. The unique contributions of this study are as follows: (1) presenting correlation analyses of various microstructures (porosity, grain, and micro-oxide inclusion) and ultrasonic properties (ultrasonic velocity, attenuation, and nonlinearity parameters); (2) a development of in-situ quality monitoring technique during the AM process using ultrafast laser ultrasonics; and (3) an in-situ stress-strain curve estimation during the AM process using deep learning-based ultrasonics. The performance of the proposed techniques was examined using specimens fabricated under various AM operation conditions. The experimental results obtained by the proposed techniques were consistent with those obtained from independent destructive tests performed after the completion of the AM process.