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Laser ultrasonic inspection of additive manufactured components

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Abstract

Additively manufactured components are gaining popularity in aerospace, automotive and medical engineering applications. Additive manufacturing (AM) offers tremendous cost advantages over traditional manufacturing methods. However, inter- and intra-layer defects are observed in AM components. Moreover, the lack of appropriate testing methods for assessing the integrity of AM components deters its use, despite the several functional advantages it has to offer. Non-destructive testing (NDT) forms the most common and convenient way of inspecting parts. In this paper, a laser ultrasonic technique for the inspection of AM components is proposed. The results demonstrate laser ultrasonic testing (LUT) as a promising method for the non-contact inspection of additive manufactured components. Furthermore, the results were validated using X-ray computed tomography (CT) and ultrasonic immersion testing (UIT). The sample used in this study was manufactured through selective laser melting (SLM) AM process with built-in holes representing defects.

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank Mr. Varun Kannaiyan and Mr. Siddharth Gopalakrishnan from CNDE, Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM), India, for their assistance with computed tomography and ultrasonic immersion C-scan tests. The authors wish to thank Mr. Girish Thipperudrappa and Mr. Krzysztof Stachowicz from Swinburne University of Technology (SUT), Melbourne, Australia, for their assistance with laser ultrasonic testing. The authors acknowledge the support of the Defence Materials Technology Centre (DMTC), Melbourne, Australia. The lead author in this study was supported in an academic exchange visit to SUT, Australia, through an IITM-SUT MoU.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Non-Destructive Evaluation, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, TN, 600036, India

    Geo Davis, Prabhu Rajagopal & Krishnan Balasubramaniam

  2. Faculty of Science, Engineering and Technology, Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, VIC, 3122, Australia

    Geo Davis, Romesh Nagarajah, Suresh Palanisamy & Rizwan Abdul Rahman Rashid

  3. Defence Materials Technology Centre, Hawthorn, VIC, 3122, Australia

    Suresh Palanisamy & Rizwan Abdul Rahman Rashid

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  1. Geo Davis
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Correspondence to Geo Davis.

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Davis, G., Nagarajah, R., Palanisamy, S. et al. Laser ultrasonic inspection of additive manufactured components. Int J Adv Manuf Technol 102, 2571–2579 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-018-3046-y

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