Defect detection and imaging in elastic materials with complex geometries

Abstract

Additive manufacturing has made it possible to easily create parts with complex shapes, even out of metal materials. However, in order to guarantee the quality of such parts, there is a need to establish a nondestructive inspection technique that is feasible for such complex structures. In this presentation, I will introduce a technology that can visualize internal damage even in complex objects by utilizing the ultrasonic field generated and diffused inside the object with non-contact manner. Ultrasonic waves generated by laser irradiation resonate with the natural frequency of defects such as delamination near the surface of an object. By scanning the laser beam for generating ultrasonic waves and detecting vibrations at a fixed position on the surface of the object, an image of defects in the vicinity of the surface can be obtained as a distribution of vibration energy. The distribution of vibration energy does not depend on reflected or scattered waves from the object's wall, but only on information from the point where the laser is irradiated. This technique is expected to be especially useful for in-situ inspections of the additive manufacturing objects.