Development of a phased array ultrasonic system for residual stress measurement in welding and additive manufacturing

Residual Stress (RS) in engineering components can lead to unexpected and dangerous structural failures, and thus represent a significant challenge to quality assurance in both welding and metal additive manufacturing (AM) processes. The RS measurement using the ultrasonic method is based on the acoustoelasticity law, which states that the Time-of-Flight (ToF) of an ultrasonic wave is affected by the stress field. Longitudinal Critically Refracted (LCR) waves have the highest sensitivity to the stress in comparison with the other type of ultrasonic waves. However, they are also sensitive to the material texture which negatively affects the accuracy of the RS measurement. In this paper, a Phased Array Ultrasonic Testing (PAUT) system, rather than the single element transducers which are traditionally used in the LCR stress measurement technique, is innovatively used to enhance the accuracy of RS measurement. An experimental setup is developed that uses the PAUT to measure the ToFs in the weld, where the maximum amount of tensile RS is expected, and in the parent material, stress-free part. The ToF variations are then interpreted and analyzed to qualify the RS in the weld. The same measurement process is repeated for the Wire Arc Additive Manufacture (WAAM) components. Based on the results, some variations between different acoustic paths are measured which prove that the effect of the residual stress on the ultrasonic wave is detectable using the PAUT system.