Christopher H. J. Davies

Acoustic emission (AE) testing and Lamb wave inspection techniques have been widely used in non-destructive testing and structural health monitoring. For thin plates, the AEs arising from structural defect development (e.g., fatigue crack propagation) propagate as Lamb waves, and Lamb wave modes can be used to provide important information about the growth and localisation of defects. However, few sensors can be used to achieve the in situ wavenumber–frequency modal decomposition of AEs. This study explores the ability of a new multi-element piezoelectric sensor array to decompose AEs excited by pencil lead breaks (PLBs) on a thin isotropic plate. In this study, AEs were generated by out-of-plane (transverse) and in-plane (longitudinal) PLBs applied at the edge of the plate, and waveforms were recorded by both the new sensor array and a commercial AE sensor. Finite element analysis (FEA) simulations of PLBs were also conducted and the results were compared with the experimental results. To identify the wave modes present, the longitudinal and transverse PLB test results recorded by the new sensor array at five different plate locations were compared with FEA simulations using the same arrangement. Two-dimensional fast Fourier Transforms were then applied to the AE wavefields. It was found that the AE modal composition was dependent on the orientation of the PLB direction. The results suggest that this new sensor array can be used to identify the AE wave modes excited by PLBs in both in-plane and out-of-plane directions.

While acoustic emission (AE) testing can be used as a valuable technique in structural health monitoring and non-destructive testing, little research has been conducted to establish its sources, particularly in 2024-T3 aluminium alloys. The major contribution of this work is that it provides a method to obtain a better linear relationship of count rate with crack growth rate based on waveform. This paper aims to characterise AE sources by synchronising the AE waveforms with load levels and then to propose possible dominant frequency ranges. The AE waveforms during fatigue crack growth in edge-notched 2024-T3 aluminium specimens, from an initial crack length of 10 mm to 70 mm, were collected at two different load ratios R = 0.125 and 0.5. At the same time, the crack growth rate was determined using thermal imaging and associated control software. The AE waveforms obtained were processed using the fast Fourier transform. It was shown that a significantly higher AE count rate was recorded at R = 0.125 compared to R = 0.5 when the maximum load was kept the same. This means that the R-ratio would affect the total amount of AE activities collected. It was also found that the dominant frequency range of the AE waveforms directly related to crack growth was 152–487 kHz, and the ranges due to crack closure were likely to be 310 kHz–316 kHz and 500–700 kHz. Based on the proposed frequency ranges, waveform selection was conducted and a better linear relationship between count rate and crack growth rate was observed. This study provides a better understanding of the AE sources and waveforms for future structural health monitoring applications.

A new multi-stage three-dimensional transient computational model to simulate powder bed fusion (L-PBF) additive manufacturing (AM) processes is presented. The model uses the discrete element method (DEM) for powder flow simulation, an extended smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) for melt pool dynamics and a semi-empirical microstructure evolution strategy to simulate the evolving temperature and microstructure of non-spherical Ti-6Al-4V powder grains undergoing L-PBF. The highly novel use of both DEM and SPH means that varied physics such as collisions between non-spherical powder grains during the coating process and heat transfer, melting, solidification and microstructure evolution during the laser fusion process can be simulated. The new capability is demonstrated by applying a complex representative laser scan pattern to a single-layer Ti-6Al-4V powder bed. It is found that the fast cooling rate primarily leads to a transition between the β and α martensitic phases. A minimal production of the α Widmanstatten phase at the outer edge of the laser is also noted due to an in situ heat treatment effect of the martensitic grains near the laser. This work demonstrates the potential of the coupled DEM/SPH computational model as a realistic tool to investigate the effect of process parameters such as powder morphology, laser scan speed and power characteristics on the Ti-6Al-4V powder bed microstructure.

High-resolution in situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction was applied to study a cold-drawn and solution-treated 56Ni–44Ti wt% alloy subjected to uniaxial cyclic loading–unloading with incremental strains. The micro-mechanical behaviour associated with the partial and repeated B2↔B19′ phase transformation at the centre of the sample gauge length was studied with respect to the macroscopic stress–strain response. The lattice strains of the (110)_B2 and different B19′ grain families are affected by (i) the transformation strain, the load-bearing capacity of both phases and the strain continuity maintained at/near the B2–B19′ interfaces at the centre of the gauge length, and (ii) the extent of transformation along the gauge length. With cycling and incremental strains (i) the elastic lattice strain and plastic strain in the remnant (110)_B2 grain family gradually saturate at early cycles, whereas the plastic strain in the B19′ phase continues to increase. This contributes to accumulation of residual strains (degradation in superelasticity), greater non-linearity and change in the shape of the macroscopic stress–strain curve from plateau type to curvilinear elastic. (ii) The initial 〈111〉_B2 fibre texture transforms to [120]_B19′, [130]_B19′, [150]_B19′ and [010]_B19′ orientations. Further increase in the applied strain with cycling results in the development of [130]_B19′, [102]_B19′, [102]_B19′, [100]_B19′ and [100]_B19′ orientations.

Amino functionalized boron nitride nanosheets (FBN) were incorporated into a crosslinked, thermally rearranged polyimide (XTR) to fabricate FBN‐XTR nanocomposite membrane. The FBN‐XTR membrane exhibited a small decrease in H₂ permeability but demonstrated a remarkably increased H₂ gas selectivity over other gases, compared with XTR. The XTR membrane heat‐treated at 425 °C had a H₂ permeability of 210 Barrers and a H₂/CH₄ separation factor of 24.1, whereas the nanocomposite membrane with 1 wt % FBN exhibited a H₂ permeability of 110 Barrers and H₂/CH₄ separation factor of 275, an order of magnitude greater. At 1 wt % FBN loading, the FBN‐XTR membrane showed three times higher tensile strength and 60 % higher elongation than pristine XTR membrane. In addition, FBN‐XTR was found to be able to be readily processed into thin‐film membranes for practical H₂ separation applications.