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- 8.4 Akustische und elektromagnetische Verfahren (17) (entfernen)
A novel approach for rating fatigue-initiating inclusions in highly demanding steel (INCAFAT)
(2018)
INCAFAT project aimed to improve existing fatigue damage models by establishing the most suitable combination of measurement techniques to characterise harmful inclusion populations in highly demanding steels. The different inclusion assessments carried out confirm that, chemical composition, secondary metallurgy and manufacturing route affect content, nature, size and shape of inclusions. According to the FEM model, inclusions produce an alteration of the stress field in their surrounding region, which can promote a fatigue failure. Experimental work on fatigue testing has demonstrated that depending on the stressed direction fatigue failures in highly demanding steels could be produced by different types of inclusions. Fractography analyses confirmed that meso-inclusions harmful in fatigue cannot be rated by standard methods, nor 10 MHz ultrasonic testing (macro) or micro-cleanness assessments. The necessity of rating these meso-inclusions has led to critical evaluation of Extreme Value Analysis according to ASTM E2283-08 and the development of high frequency immersion ultrasonic testing. EVA methodology based on inclusion width can be applied reliably when principal stress is parallel to the rolling direction. On the contrary, if inclusions are testing in the elongated directions its fails. On the other hand, the guidelines and recommendations for high frequency ultrasonic testing have been compiled in a new European standard draft. This method based on focal beam probes and high-resolution devices is able to provide information on meso-inclusion distribution.
Air-coupled ultrasound (ACU) is increasingly used for automated and contactless inspection of large-scale composite structures as well as for non-destructive testing (NDT) of water-sensitive or porous materials. The major challenge to overcome using ACU in NDT is the enormous loss of ultrasonic energy at each solid-air interface caused by the high acoustic impedance mismatch. Resonant low-frequency piezoceramic transducers are specially designed to achieve high sound pressure levels. For an expanded use of this technique, however, the spatial resolution needs to be increased.
Recent studies of our collaborative research group demonstrated the successful application of a resonance-free, highly sensitive receiver that uses a Fabry-Pérot etalon instead of piezoceramic materials or membranes. However, to reach the full potential of this broadband small-aperture optical microphone, novel transmitter concepts have to be developed and evaluated for advanced NDT applications.
Different types of transmitter were tested in combination with the optical microphone acting as receiver and they were compared to conventional piezoceramic transducers in through-transmission mode. Monolithic carbon fiber-reinforced plastics (CFRP) and CFRP sandwich structures containing different defect types were inspected. Presented results are processed as C-scan images and further evaluated for spatial resolution, signal-to-noise ratio and sensitivity of each measurement setup. Novel transmitter concepts, such as ferroelectret and thermoacoustic emitters, show promising findings with a considerably improved time and spatial resolution for ACU-NDT.
Common air-coupled transducers for non-destructive testing consist of a piezocomposite material and several matching layers. Better acoustical matching to air is achieved by transducers based on charged cellular polypropylene (PP). This material has about hundred times lower acoustic impedance than any piezocomposite, having about the same piezoelectric coefficient. The piezoelectric properties of cellular PP are caused by the polarization of air cells. Alternatively, a ferroelectret receiver can be understood as a capacitive microphone with internal polarization creating permanent internal voltage. The sensitivity of the receiver can be increased by applying additional bias voltage. We present an ultrasonic receiver based on cellular PP including a high-voltage module providing bias voltage up to 2 kV. The application of bias voltage increased the signal by 12 to 15 dB with only 1 dB increase of the noise.
This receiver was combined with a cellular PP transmitter in through transmission to inspect several test specimens consisting of glass-fiber-reinforced polymer face sheets and a porous closed-cell PVC core. These test specimens were inspected before and after load. Fatigue cracks in the porous PVC core and some fatigue damage in the face sheets were detected. These test specimens were originally developed to emulate a rotor blade segment of a wind power plant. Similar composite materials are used in lightweight aircrafts for the general aviation. The other inspected test specimen was a composite consisted of glass-fiber-reinforced polymer face sheets and a wooden core. The structure of the wooden core could be detected only with cellular PP transducers, while commercial air-coupled transducers lacked the necessary sensitivity. Measured on a 4-mm thick carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer plate, cellular PP transducers with additional bias voltage achieved a 32 dB higher signal-to-noise ratio than commercial air-coupled transducers.
Modern and energy-efficient materials are essential for innovative designs for aerospace and automotive industries. Current technologies for rapid manufacturing such as additive manufacturing and liquid composite moulding by polymer Extrusion allow innovative ways of creating robust and lightweight constructions. Commercially available printing devices often use polylactide (PLA) or acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) as raw material. Therefore, parameters like the infill ratio, influencing the ability to resist mechanical stress, may have a beneficial impact on the lifetime of components.
These manufacturing technologies require a good knowledge about materials and even adapted non-destructive testing technologies and methods. Airborne ultrasonic testing has beneficial advantages for testing those lightweight constructions. It is a contact-free testing method, which does not require a liquid couplant. Therefore, it allows fast test cycles without any unwanted alternations of the material properties due to interactions with any coupling liquid. This contribution deals with the characterisation of printed specimens based on PLA by using airborne ultrasound and presents the current edge of non-destructive testing and evaluation using airborne ultrasonic transducers. The specimens, manufactured by polymer extrusion, are printed as thin plates. The infill ratio, as well as the material thickness, were varied to model density imperfections with different geometric shapes and properties. For better understanding of the limits of airborne ultrasonic testing in transmission, we compared own-developed transducers based on different physical principles: on ferroelectrets, on the thermoacoustic effect, as well as a new type of transducers based on gas discharges.
Guided waves cover comparably long distances and thus allow for online structural health monitoring of safety relevant components, e.g. lightweight composite overwrapped pressure vessels (COPV) as used for the transportation of pressurised gases. Reliable non-destructive assessment of COPVs’ condition is not available yet due to their complex composite structure comprising a thin metal liner and a fibre reinforced plastics (FRP) overwrap. The conventional overload hydrostatic pressure testing used for the metal vessels is not suitable for the composite vessels, because it may damage the FRP overwrap reducing the service life of the COPV. Therefore, ISO and CEN defined a maximum service life of composite pressure vessels as of 15 to 20 years. To extend the COPVs’ service life and to ensure a safer usage a structural health monitoring system based on guided ultrasonic waves is to be developed.
In this contribution first results of guided waves propagation in a flat composite plate consisting of an aluminium layer firmly bonded to a carbon fibre reinforced plastic laminate are presented. Based on experimental results material properties of FRP are reconstructed by means of the Scaled Boundary Finite Element Method (SBFEM).
In the presented work, the potential of fiber-optic distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) for detection of small gas pipeline leaks (<1%) is investigated. Helical wrapping of the sensing fiber directly around the pipeline is used to increase the system sensitivity for detection of weak leak-induced vibrations. DAS measurements are supplemented with reference accelerometer data to facilitate analysis and interpretation of recorded vibration signals. The results reveal that a DAS system using direct fiber application approach is capable of detecting pipeline natural vibrations excited by the broadband noise generated by the leaking medium. In the performed experiment, pipeline vibration modes with acceleration magnitudes down to single ug were detected. Simple leak detection approach based on spectral integration of time-averaged DAS signals in frequency domain was proposed. Potential benefits and limitations of the presented monitoring Approach were discussed with respect to its practical applicability. We demonstrated that the approached is potentially capable of detection and localization of gas pipeline leaks with leak rates down to 0.1% of the pipeline flow volume and might be of interest for monitoring of short- and medium-length gas pipelines.
The Scaled Boundary Finite Element Method (SBFEM) is a semi-analytical method that shows promising results in modelling of guided ultrasonic waves. Efficiency and low computational cost of the method are achieved by a discretisation of the boundary of a computational domain only, whereas for the domain itself the analytical solution is used. By means of the SBFEM different types of defects, e.g. cracks, pores, delamination, corrosion, integrated into a structure consisting of anisotropic and isotropic materials can be modelled.
In this contribution, the SBFEM is used to analyse the propagation of guided waves in a structure consisting of an isotropic metal bonded to anisotropic carbon fibre reinforced material. The method allows appropriate wave types (modes) to be identified and to analyse their interaction with different defects. Results obtained are used to develop a structural health monitoring system for composite pressure vessels used in automotive and aerospace industries.
Die Scaled Boundary Finite Elemente Methode (SBFEM) ist eine semi-analytische Methode, die speziell für Modellierung von geführten Wellen weiterentwickelt und optimiert wurde. Da nur den Rand der Rechendomäne diskretisiert wird, hat die SBFEM einen geringen Rechenaufwand. In diesem Beitrag wird die SBFEM benutzt, um die Ausbreitung geführter Wellen in einer Metall-Faserverbund-Werkstoffstruktur zu analysieren. Mittels der SBFEM ist es möglich, verschiede Fehlertypen, z.B. Ermüdungsrisse, Poren, Delaminationen, Korrosion, in das numerische Modell zu integrieren und damit Defekt-Mode-Wechselwirkung zu analysieren. Die Ergebnisse wurden für die Entwicklung einer Methode zur Zustandsüberwachung von Composite-Druckbehältern verwendet.
Air-coupled ultrasonic testing (ACUT) has experienced rapid growth within the last years. It is especially well suited to inspection of lightweight structures consisting of composite materials and adhesive joints. Uniform coupling and easy maintenance are its advantages compared to contact technique. However, the impedance mismatch between the transducer and air poses a major challenge to the development of ACUT transducers. Commercially available air-coupled transducers consist of a piezocomposite material and matching layers. Their fabrication is difficult in handling and their signal-to-noise ratio sometimes not sufficient for various testing requirements. However, there are several innovative approaches using other materials and other physical principles to transmit and receive an ultrasonic pulse. We present a review of the latest advances in research on air-coupled transducers for non-destructive testing, including previously unpublished results. We recognize two major directions as most promising: ferroelectrets and thermoacoustic transducers. Ferroelectrets are charged cellular polymers exhibiting piezoelectric properties. Their small acoustic impedance is matched to air better than matching layers applied in conventional air-coupled transducers. Applying bias voltage to a ferroelectret receiver is the latest development in this field, which increased the received signal by 12 to 15 dB. Thermoacoustic transducers use heat to initiate an ultrasonic wave, acting as transmitters. The working principle is known from nature as thunder and lightning: thermal energy of an electrically heated material, which can also be air, is converted into acoustic energy. Some thermoacoustic transmitters consist of a conductive layer with a thickness in the nanometer range deposited on a solid substrate. Another possibility is to use an electric spark. For the first time, measurements of the sound field of an electric spark up to 500 kHz were performed. Thermoacoustic transducers enable excitation of extremely broadband pulses while producing high pressure levels, which opens new possibilities for advanced signal processing.
Um den sicheren Betrieb von Windkraftanlagen zu gewährleisten, werden Rotorblätter nach der Fertigung und nach Reparatur mit verschiedenen zerstörungsfreien Verfahren auf Schaden untersucht. Bei der Fertigung von Blattschalen, die in einer Sandwich-Schalenbauweise gefertigt werden, entstehen Imperfektionen, die unter Belastung zu großen Rissen führen können. Zur Prüfung von Blattschalen wird unter anderem Ultraschallprüfung in Kontakttechnik eingesetzt. Um den Wartungsaufwand von Ultraschallanlagen zu reduzieren und um manche Kompositstrukturen vor Koppelmittel zu schützen, wird die Anwendung von Luftultraschall erforscht. Insbesondere große Fortschritte gibt es im Bereich der Entwicklung neuer Wandler.
In diesem Beitrag berichten wir über die Luftultraschallprüfung von Schalen für Rotorblätter. Es wurden typische Sandwichschalenstrukturen hergestellt und mit einem eigenentwickelten Schalenprüfstand unter simulierter Betriebsbeanspruchung belastet. Die in den Schalenprüfkörpern entstandenen Schäden wurden außerhalb des Prüfstandes mit Luftultraschall in Durchschallung untersucht. Es wurden fokussierende Wandler auf Basis von Ferroelektreten entwickelt und für diese Prüfungen eingesetzt. Mit zusätzlicher elektrischer Vorspannung konnte die Empfindlichkeit der Empfänger deutlich erhöht werden. Die nach dem Lastwechsel entstandenen Schäden in den Rotorblattschalen waren eindeutig zu detektieren.