Development of a phased array ultrasound roller probe for inspection of wire + arc additive manufactured components. (August 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Vithanage, Randika K.W.; Mohseni, Ehsan; Lines, David; Loukas, Charalampos; Foster, Euan; MacLeod, Charles N.; Pierce, S. Gareth; Gachagan, Anthony; Ding, Jialuo; Williams, Stewart
• Is Part Of: Journal of manufacturing processes. Volume 80(2022)
• Page Start: 765
• Page End: 774
• Publication Date: 2022-08
• Subjects: Phased array ultrasound imaging -- Wire + arc additive manufacturing -- In-process phased array inspection -- Non-destructive testing of additive manufacturing -- Ultrasound phased array roller probe; Production management -- Data processing -- Periodicals; Manufacturing processes -- Periodicals; Procestechnologie; Productietechniek; Production -- Gestion -- Informatique -- Périodiques; Fabrication -- Périodiques; Manufacturing processes; Production management -- Data processing; Periodicals; 670.5
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jmapro.2022.06.045
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1526-6125

Abstract

Abstract: The wire + arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) process, which combines an electric arc as a heat source and metal wire as feedstock is proving to be very effective when producing medium to large scale metal components. The non-destructive testing (NDT) of WAAM parts, while they are being produced, provides early intervention opportunities to rectify manufacturing nonconformities and to perform in-process quality assurance of the parts. This attracts a significant amount of material, time and cost savings. Therefore, this paper presents the research, development and validation of a high temperature phased array ultrasound testing (PAUT) roller probe to perform robotically delivered in-process NDT of WAAM components. The experimental results confirm that the PAUT roller probe can endure surface temperatures up to 350 °C, can be autonomously deployed via a robotic arm and can detect 1 mm diameter flat-bottom holes located 6 mm, 9 mm and 12 mm deep under the unmachined surface of a Ti-6Al-4V WAAM calibration block. Graphical abstract: Unlabelled Image