Abstract
Elastic properties of materials can be easily determined from the ultrasonic wave velocity measurement. However, material hardness cannot be obtained from the ultrasonic wave speed. Heat treatment and aging affect the microstructure of materials changing their hardness and strength. In this study it is investigated how the attenuation of ultrasonic guided waves is affected by the duration of heat treatment and varying material hardness. To this aim six identical Aluminum 2024 alloy plate specimens were subjected to different durations of heat treatment at 150°C and were inspected nondestructively propagating Lamb waves through the specimens. Attenuation of the Lamb wave was found to be inversely related to the hardness. Rockwell Hardness test was performed to corroborate the ultrasonic observations. In comparison to Rockwell hardness test the ultrasonic inspection was found to be more sensitive to the heat treatment duration. From these results it is concluded that guided wave inspection method is a reliable and probably more desirable alternative for characterizing the hardness of heat treated materials.
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