Thesis (Ph. D.)--Worcester Polytechnic Institute. / Keywords: green-state P/M parts; inverse algorithm; conductivity-density relationship; nondestructive testing. Includes bibliographical references (p. 142-148).

Thesis (M.S.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1994. / Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 57-60). Also available via the Internet.

Thesis (MTech (Mechanical Engineering))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2009 / Sophisticated measurement methods are currently used extensively to determine the residual stresses in materials. The capabilities of the Hole-Drilling Method, Debro-30 Ultrasonic System and Digital Shearography to determine residual stresses have been explored. The accuracy of these techniques in measuring residual stresses in mild steel specimens is thoroughly examined and discussed. The results obtained from the experiments are consistent with the expected outcomes. Related literature review, experimental procedures, results and their discussion have been outlined. It is hoped that the information provided in this thesis will be of importance to end users, especially engineers and technologists who use these non-destructive methods to evaluate residual stresses in components and materials.

This research focuses on the theoretical analysis, development and experimental evaluation of a water cooled Electromagnetic Acoustic Transducer (EMAT) specifically designed for high-temperature Guided Wave Testing (GWT). Its novel design and detailed calculation of its optimum operating conditions resulted in its effectiveness at high temperatures for both short (500oC) and long-term inspection (250oC). All the steps followed for the theoretical and experimental investigation of the limitations of the existing technology and the development of a probe that can overcome these boundaries are presented. Finite Element Analysis (FEA) was performed for the optimization of the EMAT design and estimation of its ultrasonic and thermal properties at room and high temperatures over time. The wave mode purity profile of the Periodic Permanent Magnet (PPM) EMAT was theoretically studied as well as the effect of temperature rise on its ultrasonic performance. Thermal and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis was accomplished for the EMAT design optimization and calculation of its optimum operating conditions. The experimental validation of the theoretical study was also accomplished. The novel water cooled EMAT was developed and experimentally evaluated regarding its ultrasonic and thermal response at room and high temperatures. An empirical method for the enhancement of EMAT performance and its SNR was established. The wave mode purity characteristics of PPM EMAT were experimentally investigated via Laser vibrometry tests, which agreed with FEA results. The impedance analysis and ultrasonic evaluation of the EMAT at both room and high temperatures against various operating conditions were linked and compared to the results obtained from the ultrasonic, thermal and fluid FEA. In all cases, the experimental study is in good agreement with the theoretical results.

The diploma thesis examines the influence of setting welding parameters and welding process on the resulting structure and strength of the welded joint of harvester chains. The theoretical part discusses the problem of weldability of pine steels by using method “135” with the possibility of destructive or non-destructive testing of welded joints. In the practical part, this matter is examined on a specific weldment, the harvester chain. Cross member with a cube welded in two ways by method 135, followed by an assessment of the performance of welds. The results of the evaluation are written down in the manual.

The X-ray computed tomography is a technology to investigate air void structure of drilled asphalt cores, which provides a non-destructive alternative to traditional laboratory methods, usually destructive testing.In this work, six in-situ specimens from a double layer porous asphalt pavement in Linköping, Sweden, were taken and analysed using both qualitative and quantitative methods of tomography. The qualitative study focused on identifying different features of the drilled cores, such as densification and air voids in the interface between the two porous layers. In the quantitative study, the air voids contents were quantified from processed tomography images. The tomography results of air voids content in all three directions (X, Y and Z), when increasing the calculated number of slices from 4 to 8, were compared to the measured air voids contents from a standardized laboratory method. Both t-test and F-test were applied to determine if a significant difference was found. Besides, the Evaluation Index (EI) was introduced to determine the most accurate combination slices and directions.The results shown here indicate that a reduced number of tomography slices can give enough accuracy in the determination of air voids content for the porous layers. The results also showed that air voids content determined with tomography gave no significant difference compared to the laboratory results. The most accurate combination found was, in this case, the Y+Z direction. Future development will focus on automatizing the determination of air voids, as well as mastic and aggregate phases using the same methodology of comparing tomography results with laboratory results.

Volvo Group Truck Technology has the ambition to automate parts of their routine service. Therefore a project was launched to investigate which parts of the routine that could be automated. The idea of this project is to lower the time spent on the service and also improve the working environment for the personnel. The purpose of this thesis is to develop and build a conceptional prototype for a low-cost crack detecting sensor. This thesis is a part of a larger proof of concept project which Volvo GTT runs in cooperation with Robotdalen and Robot Application Center (RAC). The work done in this thesis has been based on literature studies, interviews and company visits. The gathered knowledge and observations was translated into what would be required to fit the needs. This thesis covers different techniques that could be used to detect flaws in braking discs. However, this thesis is mostly focused on one non-destructive method technique based on induced eddy currents. Several non-destructive techniques and conceptual designs has been tested and evaluated with varying results during this project. The result of this thesis was a design that reacts to discontinuities in conductive materials, such as the grey cast iron material used in the Volvo trucks braking discs. The results are represented as a voltage drop change and can be visualized by an oscilloscope. This study shows that the method of choice has the potential to be used as a crack detecting system and that the system can be built reliable with rather cheap components. Further development should aim towards making the design even cheaper and the components should be assembled on a PCB instead of a breadboard in order to make the system less sensitive to noise and easier to assemble alongside the trucks braking discs.

The focus of this thesis is to derive analytical tools for the design of infrared nondestructive tests in single and multi layer material bodies. This requires the predetermination of the parameters of the experiment such that the infrared image has the required resolution for defect detection. Inverse heat conduction in single and multi-layer materials is investigated to determine the required frequency of excitation in order to obtain a desired temperature at the observation point. We use analytical quadrupole representation to derive a polynomial relation to estimate the frequency of the periodic excitation as a function of the temperature amplitude at a given observation point within the body. The formula includes characteristic geometric and material parameters of the system. The polynomial formula can be an e ective design tool for quick frequency predetermination in the design of non-destructive testing experiments with infrared thermography. The convergence and accuracy of the formula is assessed by comparison with the analytical thermal quadrupole solution and experimental results. We also investigate the e ect of the nite length of the material domain in order to establish the range of applicability of a simpli ed formula based on semi-in nite domain assumption. The e ect of nite length is investigated analytically by using (i) Fourier series which accounts for transients and (ii) Time varying solution associated to the steady state solution when a purely periodic excitation is applied. These results are also compared with numerical solution obtained with commercial nite element software ANSYSTM.

La technique du contrôle non destructif (CND) par courants de Foucault (CF) est une solution envisageable pour caractériser l’état de contraintes dans un matériau magnétique. En effet, les propriétés magnétiques d’un matériau magnétique dépendent sensiblement de l’état de contraintes et, par ailleurs, les CF dépendent de la perméabilité magnétique. La technique des CF est potentiellement intéressante comparée à d’autres méthodes de CND, telles que la diffraction des rayons X, car elle est simple à mettre en œuvre, automatisable et peu coûteuse. Dans l'objectif de permettre in fine l’identification inverse de l’état de contraintes, un modèle prédisant l'évolution du signal fourni par un capteur à CF en fonction de l’état de contraintes du matériau ferromagnétique contrôlé a été élaboré dans cette thèse. Ceci implique la mise en place d’une double modélisation. D’une part, l’effet des contraintes sur la perméabilité magnétique a été modélisé par un modèle de comportement magnéto-élastique simplifié dérivé d'une approche multi-échelle. Cette approche permet de décrire la perméabilité magnétique d’un matériau soumis à un chargement multiaxial, en incluant notamment les effets d'anisotropie induite. D’autre part, un modèle reposant sur la méthode des éléments finis a été développé afin de prédire le signal fourni par un capteur à CF en fonction de la perméabilité anisotrope du matériau inspecté. Afin de valider la démarche de modélisation, un protocole expérimental de caractérisation magnétique et par CF a été mis en place. Les résultats de mesure obtenus présentent un bon accord qualitatif avec la modélisation, en l’absence de tout étalonnage. Une procédure d’étalonnage s'appuyant sur une mesure sous contraintes est nécessaire pour atteindre un accord quantitatif. Le modèle développé pourrait être utilisé pour concevoir des sondes à CF idoines et identifier les conditions opératoires optimales pour l'estimation de contraintes dans les matériaux magnétiques. Les procédures d'inversion à mettre en œuvre restent cependant un défi à relever / The non-destructive evaluation (NDE) technique by eddy current (EC) is a conceivable solution to characterize the stress state in magnetic materials. The approach relies on the high sensitivity of eddy current (EC) signals to the magnetic permeability, itself highly dependent on stress. The EC technique is potentially attractive compared to other NDE methods such as X-ray diffraction, due to its simple practical implementation, easiness of automation and low cost. In order to allow eventually the inverse identification of stress states in magnetic materials, a predictive model for the evolution of an EC probe signal as a function of stress has been developed during this thesis. The modelling is done in two steps. First, the effect of stress on the magnetic permeability is described using a simplified version of a multiscale model for magneto-elastic behaviour. This approach allows describing the effect of multiaxial mechanical loadings on the magnetic behaviour of materials including induced anisotropy effects. Then, the EC probe signal is determined as a function of the anisotropic permeability of the stressed material using the finite element method (FEM). In order to validate the modelling approach, an experimental setup for magnetic characterisation and EC measurements was developed. The measurements show a good qualitative accordance with the modelling results, in absence of any calibration. A calibration procedure based on a measurement under stress is necessary to obtain a quantitative agreement. The proposed model can be used to design efficient EC probes and to define optimal operating conditions to evaluate stress in magnetic materials. The development of inversion procedures, however, remains a challenge.

Over the past decade, research into computer vision has proliferated with the goal to incorporate artificial intelligence into a wide range of applications. These applications can be as sophisticated as intelligent assistants in smartphones and self-driving cars or as mundane as text and face recognition. While most of these applications are software based, they represent unique challenges when it comes to industrial implementation. This thesis concentrates on an optical non-destructive testing (NDT) and automatic classification methodology using customized image processing techniques. In contrast to conventional spatial analyses, which are highly susceptible to noise and human perception, our proposed transform domain approach provides a high degree of robustness and flexibility in feature selection and hence a better classification efficiency. Our presented algorithm classifies the Part-Under-Test (PUT) into two bins of either acceptable or faulty using transform domain techniques in conjunction with a classifier. Because the classification is critically dependent on the features extracted from these images, a sophisticated scalable database was created. This thesis applies transform domain techniques such as Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT) and Rotated Wavelet Transform (RWT) for feature extraction and then classifies the PUT based on those features. Although, this approach achieves promising classification efficiency, it does not meet industrial standards. It was concluded that in order to achieve those standards, the effect of emissivity fluctuations of the PUT should be negated. The research was then extended to apply an image acquisition algorithm in the form of shape from polarization. The approach exploits the partially linearly polarization of reflected light from the PUT surface. It was observed that this method could not only detect if the PUT is faulty or fault free, but also highlight the locations of the flaws.