Integrated in situ and ex situ ultrasonic characterization of Ti6Al4V parts made with directed energy deposition additive manufacturing with hybrid capabilities

Abstract

Metal additive manufacturing (AM) is employed to make highly complex low volume components, which often have demanding performance requirements. Current challenges in the metal AM field include control of porosity and microstructure, development of process-structure-property relationships, and simplification of the AM parameter space. These challenges are exacerbated in multiphase materials, such as Ti6Al4V, that are important for the biomedical, aerospace, and energy industries. Integrated in situ and ex situ non-destructive evaluation methods are proposed to address these challenges. In this work, in situ and ex situ ultrasound measurements are conducted on Ti6Al4V parts made using a hybrid Directed Energy Deposition (DED) system. The hybrid capabilities of the system are exploited to quantify part geometry, while ultrasound is used to measure phase velocity and attenuation in situ on a layer-by-layer basis. Furthermore, the phase velocity, attenuation, and backscatter responses of these AM and Hybrid A...