NDE for AM
Motivation
Additive manufacturing offers a paradigm shift in engineering as previous design constraints, such as tooling paths in matching are removed. The ability to create novel free form structures, such as lattices, clearly offers vast potential benefits for high performance industries including aerospace, medical and tooling. However, the uptake of AM components has been hindered as the process are prone to a variety of defects, such as porosity and cracking, which due to the variation in length scales, 10 µm to 500 µm, and the number of processing parameters, >150, make predicting and optimising against these defects near-impossible.
As such, our optics group is currently working on a number of ways to perform non-destructive evaluation on additive manufactured (AM) parts; currently, XCT is widely used in industry for part validation but is a strictly post-process ex-situ technique and has both time and safety implications. Our aim is to take advantage of the layer-by-layer nature of the AM process to inspect during the build to create a volumetric dataset and validate the part in real-time. Further to real-time validation of the component in-situ inspection offers opportunities to adjust build parameters during the build based on processing signal, analogous with the closed-loop feedback used in conventional machining. Alongside the management of components defects in AM significant research in the field is also dedicated to understanding the microstructure and subsequent mechanical properties of the AM components; in future it is envisaged that the processes can be adapted as such to tailor the component microstructure for a given role, as such a technique which can both verify a components integrity and interrogate the microstructure will be well placed to meet the demands, both current and future, of the AM industry,
SRAS on SLM components
There is both a variety of different techniques and terminology, used in the field of additive manufacturing and one of the most interesting of these is Selective Laser Melting (SLM), also known as powder bed fusion or direct metal laser sintering. Using a high power laser, small powder particles, normally of performance alloys such as Ti-6Al-4V or Inconel 718, are melted together to create relatively small components with intricate geometrical features.
Our existing laser ultrasound technique SRAS has previously been used to image the microstructure of metallic samples, giving both grain size and orientation, making it an interesting tool for investigation of SLM samples. Furthermore, In addition to this useful information, the loss of signal or a drastic change in signal amplitude/frequency can be used to measure the presence of both defects on the surface and in the near-surface region. These capabilities combined with the fact SRAS is a non-contact, non-destructive technique makes it an ideal candidate for in-situ inspection of SLM components.
By incorporating the SRAS instrument into the SLM build machine, it shall be possible to image 3D renders both defects and the microstructure on a layer-by-layer basis. The challenges in this project are both in the optical setup, such as measuring signals off rough surfaces, as well as mechanical integration, where atmosphere, temperature, small envelope and interfering particles are all factors to overcome. Furthermore, for the technology to be commercially applicable the quality of data must be balanced against the impact on the manufacturing time. In order to assess this, we have developed a framework for comparing the spatial capability and temporal penalty of various inspection systems.
Research Team
Adam Clare, Matt Clark, Richard Smith, Wenqi Li, Rikesh Patel, Don Milesh Pieris and Paul Dryburgh are actively working on this project. Previous contributors include Steve Sharples, Matthias Hirsch and Samuel Osei Achamfuo-Yeboah.
Related Publications and Talks
Smith Richard J, Hirsch Matthias, Patel Rikesh, Li Wenqi, Clare Adam T, Sharples Steve D - Spatially resolved acoustic spectroscopy for selective laser melting
- Journal of Materials Processing Technology 236:93--102,2016
- BibtexAuthor : Smith Richard J, Hirsch Matthias, Patel Rikesh, Li Wenqi, Clare Adam T, Sharples Steve D
Title : Spatially resolved acoustic spectroscopy for selective laser melting
In : Journal of Materials Processing Technology -
Address :
Date : 2016
Hirsch Matthias, Patel Rikesh, Li Wenqi, Guan Guangying, Leach Richard K., Sharples Steve D., Clare Adam T. - Assessing the capability of in-situ nondestructive analysis during layer based additive manufacture
- Additive Manufacturing 13:135--142,2017
- BibtexAuthor : Hirsch Matthias, Patel Rikesh, Li Wenqi, Guan Guangying, Leach Richard K., Sharples Steve D., Clare Adam T.
Title : Assessing the capability of in-situ nondestructive analysis during layer based additive manufacture
In : Additive Manufacturing -
Address :
Date : 2017
Hirsch Matthias, Catchpole-Smith S, Patel R, Marrow P, Li Wenqi, Tuck C, Sharples Steve D., Clare Adam T. - Meso-scale defect evaluation of selective laser melting using spatially resolved acoustic spectroscopy
- Proc. R. Soc. A 473(2205):170--194,2017
- BibtexAuthor : Hirsch Matthias, Catchpole-Smith S, Patel R, Marrow P, Li Wenqi, Tuck C, Sharples Steve D., Clare Adam T.
Title : Meso-scale defect evaluation of selective laser melting using spatially resolved acoustic spectroscopy
In : Proc. R. Soc. A -
Address :
Date : 2017
Hirsch Matthias, Dryburgh Paul, Catchpole-Smith Sam, Patel Rikesh, Perry Luke, Sharples Steve D., Ashcroft Ian A., Clare Adam T. - Targeted rework strategies for powder bed additive manufacture
- Additive Manufacturing 19:127-133,2018
- BibtexAuthor : Hirsch Matthias, Dryburgh Paul, Catchpole-Smith Sam, Patel Rikesh, Perry Luke, Sharples Steve D., Ashcroft Ian A., Clare Adam T.
Title : Targeted rework strategies for powder bed additive manufacture
In : Additive Manufacturing -
Address :
Date : 2018
- 3rd International Symposium on Laser-Ultrasonics and Advanced Sensing, Yokohama, Japan ,2013
- BibtexAuthor : Sharples Steve D., Light Roger A., Achamfuo-Yeboah Samual, Clark Matt, Somekh Mike G.
Title : The SKED: Speckle Knife Edge Detector
In : 3rd International Symposium on Laser-Ultrasonics and Advanced Sensing, Yokohama, Japan -
Address :
Date : 2013
Patel Rikesh, Guan Guanying, Hirsch Matthias, Li Wenqi, Smith Richard J., Achamfuo-Yeboah Samual, Light Roger A., Clare Adam T., Tuck Chris, Clark Matt, Sharples Steve D. - On using laser ultrasonic non-destructive evaluation for additive manufactured samples
- 15th Anglo-French Physical Acoustics Conference, Fréjus, France ,2015
- BibtexAuthor : Patel Rikesh, Guan Guanying, Hirsch Matthias, Li Wenqi, Smith Richard J., Achamfuo-Yeboah Samual, Light Roger A., Clare Adam T., Tuck Chris, Clark Matt, Sharples Steve D.
Title : On using laser ultrasonic non-destructive evaluation for additive manufactured samples
In : 15th Anglo-French Physical Acoustics Conference, Fréjus, France -
Address :
Date : 2015
Clare Adam T., Sharples Steve D., Tuck Chris, Groom Kristian, Hirsch Matthias, Patel Rikesh, Li Wenqi, Smith Richard J., Guan Guanying - In-Process monitoring of Additive Layer Manufacturing
- 54th Annual Conference of The British Institute of Non-Destructive Testing, Telford, UK ,2015
- BibtexAuthor : Clare Adam T., Sharples Steve D., Tuck Chris, Groom Kristian, Hirsch Matthias, Patel Rikesh, Li Wenqi, Smith Richard J., Guan Guanying
Title : In-Process monitoring of Additive Layer Manufacturing
In : 54th Annual Conference of The British Institute of Non-Destructive Testing, Telford, UK -
Address :
Date : 2015
Patel Rikesh, Hirsch Matthias, Li Wenqi, Smith Richard J., Achamfuo-Yeboah Samual, Tuck Chris, Clark Matt, Clare Adam T., Sharples Steve D. - On using laser ultrasonic non-destructive evaluation for additive manufactured samples
- 4th International Symposium on Laser-Ultrasonics and Advanced Sensing, Illinois, USA ,2015
- BibtexAuthor : Patel Rikesh, Hirsch Matthias, Li Wenqi, Smith Richard J., Achamfuo-Yeboah Samual, Tuck Chris, Clark Matt, Clare Adam T., Sharples Steve D.
Title : On using laser ultrasonic non-destructive evaluation for additive manufactured samples
In : 4th International Symposium on Laser-Ultrasonics and Advanced Sensing, Illinois, USA -
Address :
Date : 2015
Patel Rikesh, Hirsch Matthias, Li Wenqi, Smith Richard J., Achamfuo-Yeboah Samual, Tuck Chris, Clark Matt, Clare Adam T., Sharples Steve D. - On using laser ultrasonic non-destructive evaluation for additive manufactured samples
- 42nd Annual Review of Progress in Quantitative Nondestructive Evaluation Conference, Minneapolis, USA ,2015
- BibtexAuthor : Patel Rikesh, Hirsch Matthias, Li Wenqi, Smith Richard J., Achamfuo-Yeboah Samual, Tuck Chris, Clark Matt, Clare Adam T., Sharples Steve D.
Title : On using laser ultrasonic non-destructive evaluation for additive manufactured samples
In : 42nd Annual Review of Progress in Quantitative Nondestructive Evaluation Conference, Minneapolis, USA -
Address :
Date : 2015
Patel Rikesh, Hirsch Matthias, Smith Richard J., Achamfuo-Yeboah Samual, Clare Adam T., Sharples Steve D. - Laser ultrasonic inspection of as-deposited AM samples
- 5th International Symposium on Laser-Ultrasonics and Advanced Sensing, Linz, Austria ,2016
- BibtexAuthor : Patel Rikesh, Hirsch Matthias, Smith Richard J., Achamfuo-Yeboah Samual, Clare Adam T., Sharples Steve D.
Title : Laser ultrasonic inspection of as-deposited AM samples
In : 5th International Symposium on Laser-Ultrasonics and Advanced Sensing, Linz, Austria -
Address :
Date : 2016
Clare Adam T., Sharples Steve D., Leach Richard K., Guan Guanying, Hirsch Matthias, Patel Rikesh - In-Process monitoring of Additive Layer Manufacturing
- 66th CIRP General Assembly, Guimarães, Portugal ,2016
- BibtexAuthor : Clare Adam T., Sharples Steve D., Leach Richard K., Guan Guanying, Hirsch Matthias, Patel Rikesh
Title : In-Process monitoring of Additive Layer Manufacturing
In : 66th CIRP General Assembly, Guimarães, Portugal -
Address :
Date : 2016
Clare Adam T., Hirsch Matthias, Guan Guanying, Patel Rikesh, Li Wenqi, Dryburgh Paul, Milesh Pieris Don, Sharples Steve D. - Approaches for AM in-process inspection using SRAS and OCT
- EUSPEN Special Interest Group Meeting: Quality Control for Additive Manufacturing, Coventry, UK ,2017
- BibtexAuthor : Clare Adam T., Hirsch Matthias, Guan Guanying, Patel Rikesh, Li Wenqi, Dryburgh Paul, Milesh Pieris Don, Sharples Steve D.
Title : Approaches for AM in-process inspection using SRAS and OCT
In : EUSPEN Special Interest Group Meeting: Quality Control for Additive Manufacturing, Coventry, UK -
Address :
Date : 2017
Pieris Don M., Catchpole-Smith Sam, Patel Rikesh, Hirsch Matthias, Dryburgh Paul, Li Wenqi, Sharples Steve D., Smith Richard, Clare Adam T., Clark Matt - Detection and Manipulation of AM Component Microstructure using SRAS
- Institute of Physics: Optics and Ultrasound IV, University of Strathclyde, UK ,2017
- BibtexAuthor : Pieris Don M., Catchpole-Smith Sam, Patel Rikesh, Hirsch Matthias, Dryburgh Paul, Li Wenqi, Sharples Steve D., Smith Richard, Clare Adam T., Clark Matt
Title : Detection and Manipulation of AM Component Microstructure using SRAS
In : Institute of Physics: Optics and Ultrasound IV, University of Strathclyde, UK -
Address :
Date : 2017
