Metal Surface Fatigue Detection Using Nonlinear Ultrasonic

Abstract

Based on theory of ultrasonic nondestructive testing on surface fatigue damage of metal components, the wave law of ultrasonic nonlinearity caused by fatigue is studied. When there are lattice defects in metal material, second-order nonlinear coefficient β changes during ultrasonic propagation. According to the point, the system of nonlinear ultrasonic testing is build. The change trends of harmonic amplitudes and ultrasonic coefficients are measured during fatigue bending testing of materials such as 45 steel, 2024 aluminum alloy and 304 stainless steel. The results shows: in elastic phase, the ratios of harmonic and fundamental waves monotonically increase with fatigue life, and in plastic phase, deformations appear and micro-cracks expand into macro-cracks in materials, the ratios firstly decrease and then increase with fatigue life. However the quadratic sums of nonlinear coefficient are approximately linear with the fatigue life. Therefore, when the relationship between the quadratic sums and fatigue life is known, it can be used to characterize fatigue state of metal materials.