Application of Ultrasonic Array Method for the Inspection of TC18 Addictive Manufacturing Titanium Alloy

Ultrasonic arrays have been investigated for inspecting the quality of special materials. Unfortunately, non-destructive testing and evaluation (NDT&E) of internal defects in additive manufacturing (AM) materials are difficult due to the anisotropy and the coarse grain. To solve the problem, this paper brings forward research on the inspection of TC18 AM titanium alloy products using an ultrasonic array. Firstly, a three-dimensional acoustic field distribution of different ultrasonic array transducers is established to design an optimal detection solution for an AM titanium alloy. Then, a total focusing method (TFM) for the ultrasonic annular array transducer is proposed and its imaging method is analyzed. Besides, the relation between ultrasonic group velocities in a TC18 AM specimen with different propagating angles is measured using the full matrix capture (FMC) method. Based on the measurements, the anisotropy of the AM titanium alloy is discussed and the TFM algorithm of annular array is optimized as well. Finally, C-scan experiments are conducted on the specimen with a height of 55 mm using the linear ultrasonic array transducer of the conventional focusing method and the TFM of annular array transducer, respectively. The results show that the TFM of annular array has higher accuracy in quantifying the defects of flat bottom holes and transverse holes with a diameter of 0.8 mm. In addition, the detection results of different forming directions are analyzed and the 3D imaging of defects in the specimen is realized based on FMC data. The TFM of annular array is an innovative ultrasonic testing technology with high resolution for AM titanium alloy products.