Fatigue crack detection in rotating steel shafts using noncontact ultrasonic modulation measurements

Abstract

In this study, a noncontact fatigue crack detection technique for rotating steel shafts is developed using air-coupled transducers (ACTs). Two ACTs are used for ultrasonic wave generation at two distinctive frequencies, and a third ACT is used for sensing. The proposed technique is based on the premise that nonlinear ultrasonic modulation appears at the sum and difference of two input frequencies in the presence of any crack due to crack opening and closing. First, the spectral correlation (SC) between ultrasonic modulation components at the sum and difference of two input frequencies is computed. Next, an outlier analysis is performed on spectral correlations obtained from different input frequency combinations for automated crack diagnosis. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study in which a sub-millimeter fatigue crack is detected in a rotating steel shaft using noncontact transducers. In this study, real fatigue cracks on half-scale and full-scale steel shafts used in automobile assembly lines are produced through cyclic loading tests, and the performance of the proposed technique is experimentally validated using ultrasonic response data obtained from the half-scale and full-scale steel shaft specimens. The formation of fatigue cracks is confirmed using fluorescent magnetic particle inspection (MPI), fluorescent penetrant inspection (FPI), and metallographic analysis.