Assessment of material degradation due to corrosion-fatigue using a backscattered Rayleigh surface wave

Material degradation due to corrosion-fatigue was evaluated nondestructively using backscattered Rayleigh surface wave. A corrosion-fatigue test was carried out for the specimens made of thermo-mechanically controlled process steel in 3.5 wt.% NaCl solution at 25 degrees C. The Backscattering profile, which is the amplitude variation of backscattered ultrasound according to the incident angle, of the specimens were measured in water at room temperature after the corrosion-fatigue test. The velocity of Rayleigh surface wave, determined from the incident angle at which the profile of the backscattered ultrasound became maximum, decreased for the specimen that had the large number of cycles to failure in the corrosion-fatigue test. This fact implies that the corrosion degradation occurred at specimen surface in this specific test is dominantly dependant on the time exposed to corrosion environment. The result observed in the present work demonstrates the high potential of backscattered Rayleigh surface wave as a tool for nondestructive evaluation of corrosion degradation of aged materials.