Laser-ultrasonic study of the local porosity of reactive cast aluminum-matrix composites

One of the most critical manufacturing defects of cast metal-matrix composites is a non-uniform porosity distribution over the composite volume. Unevenness of the distribution leads not only to local softening, but also plays a key role in the evolution of the damage process under the external loads. The goal of the study is to apply a new laser-ultrasonic method to in-situ study of a local porosity in reactive cast aluminum-matrix composites. The proposed method is based on statistical analysis of the amplitude distribution of backscattered broadband pulses of longitudinal ultrasonic waves in the studied materials. Laser excitation and piezoelectric detection of ultrasound were carried out using a laser-ultrasonic transducer. Two series of reactive cast aluminum-matrix composites were analyzed: reinforced by in situ synthesized Al3Ti intermetallic particles in different volume concentrations and by Al3Ti added with synthetic diamond nanoparticles. It is shown that for both series of the composites, the amplitude distribution of backscattered ultrasonic pulses is approximated by the Gaussian probability distribution applicable for statistics of large number of independent random variables. The empirical dependence of the half-width of this distribution on the local porosity in composites of two series is approximated by the same nearly linear function regardless of the size and fraction of reinforcing particles. This function was used to derive the formula for calculation of the local porosity in the studied composites. The developed technique seems to be promising in revealing potentially dangerous domains with high porosity in reactive-cast metal-matrix composites.

Influence of Local Porosity on the Mechanical Properties of Direct Metal Laser-Sintered 1.2709 Alloy

Powder bed metal printing has demonstrated its potential for the direct manufacturing of complex parts. It has great flexibility compared to conventional manufacturing. There are also some difficulties and problems, e.g., because the process stops during production. When the process is restarted, the first layer may be thicker due to technological limitations. In this paper, the effects caused by the presence of these thicker layers were investigated. The possibility of re-melting the layers to reduce porosity were also analysed. A tool steel powder grade 1.2709 was used to produce samples with an increased thickness of melted layers.

LASER-ULTRASONIC METHOD OF ACOUSTIC IMPEDANCE MEASUREMENT FOR QUANTITATIVE POROSITY ESTIMATION OF CROSS-PLY CARBON FIBER REINFORCED PLASTIC MATERIALS

A method of measuring the acoustic impedance of carbon fiber plastics based on the laser optoacoustic effect is proposed and experimentally realized. Measurement of the acoustic impedance of the studied composite is made by the value of the antiderivative of ultrasonic pulse reflected from the interface between the immersion liquid and the sample. A method for determining the porosity of a material by the measured value of the acoustic impedance, based on the dependence of the material density and the velocity of propagation of longitudinal acoustic waves in it on its porosity, is presented. Porous samples of crossply reinforced carbon plastics with three types of carbon fiber lay-up schemes were studied. It was found that the studied carbon fiber plastics have a non-uniform distribution of local porosity in the plane of carbon fabric stacking. It is also shown that the variation of the local porosity in the sample depends on the fiber laying scheme. It is shown that the porosity value obtained by X-ray computed tomography coincides with the results of laser-ultrasonic measurements. The advantage of the proposed method is the possibility of rapid diagnosis of porosity with one-way access to the object under study without measuring its dimensions and mass, which can be used for composite structures of complex shape.

Morphology on Reaction Mechanism Dependency for Twin Polymerization

An in-depth knowledge of the structure formation process and the resulting dependency of the morphology on the reaction mechanism is a key requirement in order to design application-oriented materials. For twin polymerization, the basic idea of the reaction process is established, and important structural properties of the final nanoporous hybrid materials are known. However, the effects of changing the reaction mechanism parameters on the final morphology is still an open issue. In this work, the dependence of the morphology on the reaction mechanism is investigated based on a previously introduced lattice-based Monte Carlo method, the reactive bond fluctuation model. We analyze the effects of the model parameters, such as movability, attraction, or reaction probabilities on structural properties, like the specific surface area, the radial distribution function, the local porosity distribution, or the total fraction of percolating elements. From these examinations, we can identify key factors to adapt structural properties to fulfill desired requirements for possible applications. Hereby, we point out which implications theses parameter changes have on the underlying chemical structure.

METHODS OF STUDYING THE STRUCTURE AND PROPERTIES OF MOUNTAIN BREEDS ON SAMPLES (QUICK REVIEW)

Some non-destructive methods for controlling the internal structure of rocks are described and examples of their use are given. Examples of the use of X-ray and neural tomography, scanning electron and acoustic microscopy are also given. It is shown that the method of laser-ultrasound struktroskopii is promising. Two examples of the use of the latter are given: measuring the local porosity of samples of geomaterials and monitoring changes in the internal structure as a result of electromagnetic exposure.