Meso-scale defect evaluation of selective laser melting using spatially resolved acoustic spectroscopy.

Developments in additive manufacturing technology are serving to expand the potential applications. Critical developments are required in the supporting areas of measurement and in process inspection to achieve this. CM247LC is a nickel superalloy that is of interest for use in aerospace and civil power plants. However, it is difficult to process via selective laser melting (SLM) as it suffers from cracking during rapid cooling and solidification. This limits the viability of CM247LC parts created using SLM. To quantify part integrity, spatially resolved acoustic spectroscopy (SRAS) has been identified as a viable non-destructive evaluation technique. In this study, a combination of optical microscopy and SRAS was used to identify and classify the surface defects present in SLM-produced parts. By analysing the datasets and scan trajectories, it is possible to correlate morphological information with process parameters. Image processing was used to quantify porosity and cracking for bulk density measurement. Analysis of surface acoustic wave data showed that an error in manufacture in the form of an overscan occurred. Comparing areas affected by overscan with a bulk material, a change in defect density from 1.17% in the bulk material to 5.32% in the overscan regions was observed, highlighting the need to reduce overscan areas in manufacture.