Research Projects

Nondestructive evaluation (NDE) is crucial for assessing the structural integrity of aerospace components made of aluminium alloys. Ultrasonic NDE is a versatile method that can assess fatigue damage before crack generation. Conventional ultrasonic methods are insensitive to microstructural degradation in materials, making NLU an ideal approach. NLU generates higher order harmonics during propagation of finite amplitude ultrasonic waves through degraded or nonlinear materials. The quantification of degradation or nonlinearities is characterized by a nonlinear ultrasonic parameter, beta. This proposed method will assess high cycle and low cycle fatigue damage in Al-Mg-sc alloy. Despite ongoing research, no studies have been found to assess fatigue damage in aluminium Al-Mg-sc alloy. The evaluation capabilities will be improved by mixing various ultrasonic guided wave modes for determining nonlinearities generated during in-service degradation. However, there is a lack of research and applicability in this area.