Acoustic material testing a progressive testing method

Abstract

Acoustic material testing is well known for quality inspection of metal and composite parts in serial production, with short cycle times and a robust performance. Acoustic material testing is a referencing respectively comparative testing method. Therefore, preclassified reference parts are required to teach the testing system. In practice, it is often difficult to provide clearly pre-classified failure parts. Also, it is common to use sample parts which are characterized by the subjective evaluation of the employees. In this case evaluation deviations between the subjective evaluation and the objective measurement result of the acoustic test system are to be considered. This leads to discussions, as the employees tend to trust their own judgment and rely on their experience. Defects must then be clearly determined, by using other and more complex and costly testing methods, such as ultrasound or CT. With new analytic techniques the teaching process, especially without the availability of failure parts, can be shortened and simplified.