Evaluation of NDT Techniques for Assessment of Critical Process and Manufacturing Related Flaws and Defects for a Ti-alloy

Project Information

3TANIUM

Grant agreement ID: 101007830

DOI

10.3030/101007830

Project closed

EC signature date 1 December 2020

Start date 1 January 2021

End date 31 December 2022

Funded under

• SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Smart, Green And Integrated Transport

Total cost

€ 550 000,00

EU contribution

€ 550 000,00

Coordinated by

CEST KOMPETENZZENTRUM FUR ELEKTROCHEMISCHE OBERFLACHENTECHNOLOGIE GMBH
Austria

Periodic Reporting for period 2 - 3TANIUM (Evaluation of NDT Techniques for Assessment of Critical Process and Manufacturing Related Flaws and Defects for a Ti-alloy)

Reporting period: 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

To improve aircraft resource-efficiency and to decrease fuel consumption and CO2 emissions innovative solutions with superior mechanical properties for advanced structures are in development. Ti6Al4V alloys, due to a high strength-to-weight ratio compared to steel or aluminium can keep the structural weight and size ratio low. However, lightweight construction with this alloy is currently only possible with conventional techniques as CNC machining, casting that lead to a high proportion of raw material removal. This is not cost-efficient and works with a high ecological footprint. A primary alternative for fabrication of advanced functional lightweight metallic parts is additive manufacturing (AM, also known as 3D-printing), offering benefits in terms of weight, design and functionality, lead time and cost/manufacturability and allowing for alternative geometric shapes, thereby decreasing the weight of the component without sacrificing component strength and safety. However, AM has not yet been approved for structural components with high safety requirements to date, as there are still technology gaps: material property control, correlation between process and structural properties, effect of defects, quality control. Material and mechanical properties of AM parts differ substantially from the properties of the same parts produced by conventional casting. Therefore, a damage tolerance assessment needs to be performed for AM parts in commercial aircraft applications to meet functional and safety requirements.
The main objective of the 3TANIUM is the establishment of NDT methods that are capable to provide the secure detection of process related critical flaws and defects and to understand their effects on material and mechanical properties in Ti6Al4V AM parts. 3TANIUM quantitatively assessed the applicability of NDT methods applied on appropriately and innovatively post-treated (heat-treated, Laser-shock-peened, and surface-treated with chemical / electrochemical methods) AM parts in order to realize benefits offered by AM in the aeronautical industry. Evaluation of reliable Non-Destructive Testing and Analysis (NDT/NDA) techniques for precisely and securely assessing eventual defects and their criticality in AM parts was performed in 3TANIUM project, together with optimization of AM- and post-treatment processes to reduce the occurrence of such defects and for substantial improvement of fatigue life.
In combination with NDT/NDA methods and surface characterization, a method for modeling / simulation was established for effective lifetime prediction of AM parts. It paves the way for introduction of the AM manufactured parts, not only in aviation, but also in other sectors such as spacecraft, automotive and vessels. This may bring a new dimension to Europe’s future aircraft technology, with a manifold return on the investment as technological innovation, economic exploitation, and societal benefits.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

According to a test and characterization matrix established at the start of the project, round and flat Ti6Al4V parts have been AM-manufactured by PREMET. The specimens have been post-treated with various methods, i.e. thermal treatment (HIP and Stress Relief), and surface treatment (pickling and electrochemical polishing methods). Laser Shock Peening and CNC milling post-treatments were performed in the second year of project. Specimens have been NDT-tested and characterized by various methods before and after post-treatment. For NDT testing, microcomputed tomography (µCT) turned out to be the most effective method for assessment of micropores (down to 12 µm) and to reveal defects such as larger pores and cracks. Characterization methods include roughness measurement (0.9 µm with fluoride - free electropolishing), electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-Ray spectroscopy (SEM/EDX) of specimens and powders, and crystallography by means of X-Ray diffraction (XRD). During electropolishing (CEST), roughness and SEM/EDX characterization has been carried out before electropolishing and after each process step.
An optimization loop has been implemented to reduce porosity and other defects. With the fourth batch of specimens, porosity (before thermal treatment) has been reduced to 0.0088%, followed by further optimization. The optimized specimens were treated and characterized/tested in the same way as described above. More than 40 specimens have been analyzed with µCT. In parallel to NDT testing and characterization, mechanical testing (tensile test, fatigue testing) was performed. All results were forwarded to VZLU, who have established a machine learning approach (Figure 1) for prediction of fatigue lifetime (Figure 2).

The 3TANIUM project is presented on the webpage www.3tanium.eu. It has also been presented in the FFG-event “Guten Morgen TakeOFF” on 04.03.2021 which can be found at https://www.ffg.at/veranstaltung/takeoff_Veranstaltungsreihe_Teil_3.
Events presentation:
• THERMEC 2021 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON PROCESSING & MANUFACTURING OF ADVANCED MATERIALS (online), see https://www.tugraz.at/events/thermec-2020/home/
• 3TANIUM project co-organised and supported a dedicated section in the COAST 2022 conference, May 2022, Wiener Neustadt, Austria.
• International Conference on Additive Manufacturing for Aerospace and Defence and Design Optimization, September 08-09, 2022, Singapore, online. Oral presentation
• Conference EAN2022, Prague Experimental Stress Analysis 2022, 6 – 9 June 2022, Prague, Czech Republic.
• The Global Advanced Materials & Surfaces International Conference - GAMS 2022, 15-17 June 2022, Paris, France. Oral presentation
• Workshop regarding the machine learning models, AERO Vodochody AEROSPACE, 25 November 2022, Odolena Voda, Czech Republic.
• EUROCORR 2022, 28August – 1 September 2022, Berlin, Germany, Poster presentation.
Open access publication:
Modelling fatigue life prediction of additively manufactured Ti-6Al-4V samples using machine learning approach - ScienceDirect

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The optimization work for the AM process and post treatment aimed for a reduction of defects such as pores and for stress reduction and increase of density, in order to increase ultimate tensile stress by at least 10% and to reach a fatigue life of at least 1.5 million cycles. The AM protocol established in the 3TANIUM project aims for a cost reduction of at least 20 % in comparison to state-of-the-art subtractive manufacturing methods (such as casting and subsequent CNC machining). With post treatment (at least two methods), a homogeneous surface roughness of 1 µm has already been reached for the electropolishing method.
The 3TANIUM established NDT methods capable to provide the secure detection of process related critical flaws and defects. Their effects on material and mechanical properties in Ti6Al4V AM parts was determined. The main achievements of the 3TANIUM project reached a TRL 4 level. For the market launch a TRL level of 9 must be reached. The NDT protocols for AM parts for detection of flaws and onsetting fatigue cracks, and fatigue life prediction based on the data generated by NDT inspection pave the way for reaching the safety requirements in aeronautics and give a cost estimate for EASA and FAA approval requirements. The 3TANIUM generated know-how could be furthermore developed and adapted to other industrial re-quirements.

Fatigue life: trained ML models versus predicted ones

Schema of the compilation process of the data set.