Surface Wave Techniques for Predicting the Remaining Life of Fatigue Damaged Metals
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Begun in 1973, the Review of Progress in Quantitative Nondestructive Evaluation (QNDE) is the premier international NDE meeting designed to provide an interface between research and early engineering through the presentation of current ideas and results focused on facilitating a rapid transfer to engineering development.
This site provides free, public access to papers presented at the annual QNDE conference between 1983 and 1999, and abstracts for papers presented at the conference since 2001.
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Abstract
In our continuing efforts to investigate methods to characterize the state of fatigue nondestructively and to apply these observations to lifetime predictions, we have initiated acoustic surface wave studies using Al 2024-T351. A smooth bar specimen was designed which can be tested in tension-compression fatigue. Acoustic wedge transducers were mounted on the specimen to sample fatigue induced changes within the gauge section. Data on acoustic harmonic generation were taken as a function of applied external load at any point of the sample's fatigue life. An optical microscope was attached to the load frame to monitor microcrack formation in the gauge section. Significant changes of the second harmonic have been observed as a function of stress and fatigue. First results indicate a decrease of the second harmonic as a function of stress. At about 50% of the fatigue life microcracks initiated at surface intermetallics and a substantial increase of the second harmonic amplitude in the vicinity of zero external applied load was observed.