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A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Manufacturing Processes and Systems".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 August 2023) | Viewed by 21972

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Dr. Francesca Lionetto

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Guest Editor

Department of Engineering for Innovation, University of Salento, Lecce, Italy
Interests: material characterization; ultrasonic wave propagation; polymer rheology; curing kinetics of thermosetting matrices; polymer matrix composites; polymer composite processing and joining; heat transfer modelling; polymer based nanocomposites; hybrid welding of dissimilar materials; micro and nanoplastics; sustainability
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Dear Colleagues,

Further to the success of the Special Issue of Materials on “Ultrasound for material characterization and processing”, I am delighted to open a new Special Issue entitled “Ultrasound for material characterization and processing II”.

Ultrasound is currently used for multiple purposes in many different fields, from the non-destructive inspection of materials to sonochemical synthesis of materials and welding. Usually, ultrasonic applications are divided in low-intensity–high-frequency ultrasound and high-intensity–low-frequency ultrasound. Low-intensity ultrasound transmits energy through the medium in order to obtain information about the medium or to convey information through the medium. Today, it is an essential tool to assess metals, plastics, aerospace composites, wood, concrete, and cement. High-intensity ultrasound deliberately affects the propagation medium through the high local temperatures and pressures generated primarily by acoustic cavitation.

This Special Issue aims to present recent advances in ultrasound covering fundamental science as well as applications of ultrasound in the field of engineering material characterization and material processing with the analysis of heat and mass transfer related to the propagation of ultrasonic weaves in a material.

Original articles and review papers will deal with the following themes without being limited to them:

Low-intensity ultrasound: non-destructive inspection, ultrasonic dynamic analysis, ultrasonic rheology, ultrasonic spectroscopy of materials, process monitoring, and applications in civil, aerospace, and geological materials and structures; characterization of biological media; imaging and mapping.
High-intensity ultrasound: industrial processes such as welding, cleaning, emulsification, atomization, etc.; chemical reactions and reactor induced by ultrasonic waves; synthesis of organic and inorganic materials; microstructural effects; heat generation; accelerated materials characterization by ultrasonic fatigue testing; food processing, environmental protection.

Contribute on heat and transport phenomena in ultrasound-based applications are also welcome.

I kindly invite you to submit a manuscript for this Special Issue. Full papers, communications, and reviews are all welcome.

Dr. Francesca Lionetto
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Materials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

ultrasonic wave propagation
non-destructive inspection
guided waves
material characterization
viscolastic properties
ultrasonic welding
ultrasonic sonochemistry
numerical modeling
heat and mass transport phenomena
food processing
environmental protection
industrial processing

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Related Special Issue

Ultrasound for Material Characterization and Processing in Materials (12 articles)

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Research

16 pages, 3404 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Inspection of Spot Welded Joints with the Use of the Ultrasonic Surface Wave

by Dariusz Ulbrich, Grzegorz Psuj, Artur Wypych, Dariusz Bartkowski, Aneta Bartkowska, Arkadiusz Stachowiak and Jakub Kowalczyk

Materials 2023, 16(21), 7029; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16217029 - 3 Nov 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1420

Abstract

Spot welded joints play a crucial role in the construction of modern automobiles, serving as a vital method for enhancing the structural integrity, strength, and durability of the vehicle body. Taking into account spot welding process in automotive bodies, numerous defects can arise, such as insufficient weld nugget diameter. It may have evident influence on vehicle operation or even contribute to accidents on the road. Hence, there is a need for non-invasive methods that allow to assess the quality of the spot welds without compromising their structural integrity and characteristics. Thus, this study describes a novel method for assessing spot welded joints using ultrasound technology. The usage of ultrasonic surface waves is the main component of the proposed advancement. The study employed ultrasonic transducers operating at a frequency of 10 MHz and a specially designed setup for testing various spot welded samples. The parameters of the spot welding procedure and the size of the weld nugget caused differences in the ultrasonic surface waveforms that were recorded during experiments. One of the indicators of weld quality was the amplitude of the ultrasonic pulse. For low quality spot welds, the amplitude amounted to around 25% of the maximum value when using single-sided transducers. Conversely, for high-quality welds an amplitude of 90% was achieved. Depending on the size of the weld nugget, a larger or smaller amount of wave energy is transferred, which results in a smaller or larger amplitude of the ultrasonic pulse. Comparable results were obtained when employing transducers on both sides of the tested joint, as an amplitude ranging from 13% for inferior welds to 97% for superior ones was observed. This research confirmed the feasibility of employing surface waves to assess the diameter of the weld nugget accurately. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ultrasound for Material Characterization and Processing II)

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14 pages, 5778 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Ultrasonic-Assisted Surface Finishing of STAVAX Mold Steel Using Lab-Made Polishing Balls on a 5-Axis CNC Machining Center

by Fang-Jung Shiou, Jian-Nan Pan, Zhao-Li Ding and Sun-Peng Lin

Materials 2023, 16(17), 5888; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16175888 - 28 Aug 2023

Viewed by 1378

Abstract

The inconvenience of conventional wool ball polishing is that the surface finishing process should be equipped with a slurry container. The main objective of this research is to develop an ultrasonic-assisted surface finishing process for STAVAX mold steel on a 5-axis CNC machining center, by using new lab-made rubber polishing balls containing the abrasive aluminum oxide instead of the traditional wool ball polishing. In total, five types (type A to type E) of new rubber-matrixed polishing balls with a composite of nitrile butadiene rubber (NBR), an abrasive of aluminum oxide, and an additive of silicon dioxide have been developed. The performance of the composites with different grain sizes (0.05 μm to 3 μm) and concentrations of the abrasive of aluminum oxide have been investigated. The effects of multiple polishing passes on the surface roughness improvement for the lab-made polishing balls have also been investigated in this study. A surface roughness of Ra 0.027 μm on average was achieved by using the multiple polishing process of E-C-B-A. The volumetric wear of the lab-made polishing balls, using ultrasonic vibration-assisted polishing, can be improved from about 12.64% (type A) to 65.48% (type E) compared with the non-vibration-assisted polishing. The suitable combination of the ultrasonic vibration-assisted polishing parameters were an amplitude of 10 μm, a frequency of 23 kHz, a spindle speed of 5000 rpm, a feed rate of 60 mm/min, a stepover of 20 μm, a penetration depth of 180 μm, and a polishing pass of E-C-B-A, based on the experimental results. The surface roughness improvement on a test carrier with a saddle surface has also been presented by using the ultrasonic vibration-assisted polishing with the lab-made polishing balls. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ultrasound for Material Characterization and Processing II)

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11 pages, 3863 KiB

Open AccessCommunication

Application of Odd Harmonic Resonances of a Single Crystal to Generation and Reception of Superharmonic Waves for Sensitive Monitoring of Heat-Treated Materials

by Hyunjo Jeong

Materials 2023, 16(13), 4777; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16134777 - 2 Jul 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1044

Abstract

In nonlinear ultrasonic testing, the quadratic and more recently cubic nonlinearity parameters are frequently measured as a quantitative indicator of damaged material state. Application of higher-order harmonics can improve the sensitivity of detection and monitoring for damages and microstructures due to their higher values of nonlinearity parameters. The excitation and reception of higher-order harmonics, so-called superharmonics, which use the third to fifth harmonics arising from nonlinear wave propagation, is not sufficiently investigated and applied. The purpose of this communication is to develop a highly sensitive superharmonic nondestructive technique that efficiently generates and receives third- and fifth-order harmonics using the odd harmonic resonances of a single piezoelectric crystal. The method focuses on the measurement of fifth harmonic generation and reception, and the calculation of the relative quintic nonlinearity parameter (

δ ’

). The method also addresses the issue of source nonlinearity that may be contained in the measured fifth harmonic amplitude. The measurement results of

δ ’

for a series of precipitation heat-treated samples clearly show a much better sensitivity than the results of the cubic nonlinearity parameter (

γ ’

). The proposed method enables a highly sensitive and true pulse-echo mode nonlinear ultrasound testing. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ultrasound for Material Characterization and Processing II)

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20 pages, 35261 KiB

Open AccessArticle

In-Depth Evaluation of Ultrasonically Welded Al/Cu Joint: Plastic Deformation, Microstructural Evolution, and Correlation with Mechanical Properties

by Junqi Li, Johannes Zillner and Frank Balle

Materials 2023, 16(8), 3033; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16083033 - 12 Apr 2023

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 2217

Abstract

Ultrasonic metal welding (USMW) is widely used in assembling lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery packs due to its advantages in joining dissimilar and conductive materials in the solid state. However, the welding process and mechanisms are not yet clearly understood. In this study, dissimilar joints of aluminum alloy EN AW 1050 to copper alloy EN CW 008A were welded by USMW to simulate the tab-to-bus bar interconnects for Li-ion battery assembly. Qualitative and quantitative investigations were carried out on plastic deformation, microstructural evolution, and the correlated mechanical properties. During USMW, the plastic deformation concentrated on the Al side. The thickness of Al was reduced by more than 30%; complex dynamic recrystallization and grain growth occurred near the weld interface. The mechanical performance of the Al/Cu joint was evaluated with the tensile shear test. The failure load gradually increased until a welding duration of 400 ms, and then remained almost constant. The obtained results showed that the mechanical properties were greatly influenced by plastic deformation and microstructure evolution, which provides guidance for improving the weld quality and the process in general. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ultrasound for Material Characterization and Processing II)

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13 pages, 4219 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Detection of Microstructural Changes in Metastable AISI 347, HSS Z-M4 and Tool Steel Ferrotitanit WFN by Mechanical Loss Coefficient at Ultrasonic Frequencies

by Moritz Liesegang, Tobias Daniel, Benedikt Jäckels, Marek Smaga and Tilmann Beck

Materials 2022, 15(17), 6002; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15176002 - 30 Aug 2022

Viewed by 1405

Abstract

Ultrasonic processes such as ultrasonic welding or ultrasonic fatigue testing use power ultrasound to stimulate materials with amplitudes in the range of 1–100 µm. The ultrasonic welding process is sensitive to any changes in the system or even the environment that may result in lower joint quality. The welding tools, so called sonotrodes, have to be accurately designed to endure high mechanical and thermal loads while inducing a sufficient amount of welding energy into the joining zone by oscillation with the Eigenfrequency of the whole system. Such sonotrodes are often made of thermally treated metals where the heat treatment is accompanied by microstructural changes. During ultrasonic stimulation, the material may further change its properties and microstructure due to cyclic loading. Both are expected to be recognized and identified by loss coefficients. Therefore, the loss coefficient was determined by modal analysis of rods and fatigue specimen made of different materials to correlate microstructural changes to attenuation. The determined loss coefficients indicated microstructural changes in all materials investigated, confirming results from previous investigations that showed an increasing attenuation due to cyclic loading for AISI 347. For the sonotrode materials Z-M4 PM and Ferrotitanit WFN, the loss coefficients decreased due to thermal treatments. Technically most relevant, changes in elastic modulus due to thermal treatments were quantitatively related to frequency changes, which can significantly simplify future sonotrode development. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ultrasound for Material Characterization and Processing II)

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24 pages, 15744 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Comparative Analysis of Ultrasonic NDT Techniques for the Detection and Characterisation of Hydrogen-Induced Cracking

by Rymantas J. Kažys, Liudas Mažeika, Vykintas Samaitis, Reimondas Šliteris, Peter Merck and Žydrius Viliūnas

Materials 2022, 15(13), 4551; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15134551 - 28 Jun 2022

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2417

Abstract

The article is devoted to the investigation of ultrasonic inspection techniques suitable for detecting hydrogen-induced cracking (HIC) and a high-temperature hydrogen attack (HTHA), which are of great importance in petrochemical and refinery industries. Four techniques were investigated: total focusing method (TFM), advanced velocity ratio (AVR) measurement, advanced ultrasonic backscatter technique (AUBT) and time of flight diffraction method using ultra low angle ultrasonic transducers (TULA). The experimental investigation has been carried out on two carbon steel samples cut off from a heat exchanger of an oil refinery and potentially affected by HIC. It was shown that the AVR technique did not reveal any damage and was not effective in the case of the investigated samples due to a thin damage zone with respect to the total thickness of the samples. The AUBT method enabled us to indicate and classify the presence of the hydrogen-induced damage; however, it is complicated to use in practise due to the need perform measurements exactly at the same position using two transducers of different frequencies. The method is more suitable for the verification of damage at a particular position, rather than for scanning. Both other methods—TFM and TULA—enabled us to identify the presence of HIC in large areas of samples. The obtained results have been verified using a metallographic analysis of the section cut from the side of the sample. The results of metallographic examinations have been compared with indications observed using above mentioned techniques and a good correspondence was obtained. It was demonstrated, that the TFM method can detect cracks with dimensions close to 200 µm, while larger cracks of 2 mm were observed very evidently using a 7.5 MHz phased array. Overall, the results suggested that the TULA method is the most suitable method for the primary detection of hydrogen-induced cracking, while the TFM is recommended for the precise assessment of the extent of the detected cracking. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ultrasound for Material Characterization and Processing II)

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16 pages, 5096 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Mechanical and Microstructural Properties of HDPE Pipes Manufactured via Orbital Friction Stir Welding

by Hesam Mehdikhani, Amir Mostafapour, Hossein Laieghi, Reza Najjar and Francesca Lionetto

Materials 2022, 15(11), 3810; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15113810 - 27 May 2022

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3768

Abstract

In recent decades, extensive research has been performed on the friction stir welding of flat-shaped materials while pipe welding, particularly polymer pipes, still encounters challenging issues. This work presents a feasible route for joining high-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipes using an orbital friction stir welding (OFSW) set-up properly designed with a retractable pin tool. Fully consolidated joints were achieved using a portable heating-assisted OFSW system suited for on-site pipeline welding. The obtained joined pipes were characterized by a high-quality weld surface and a lack of defects arising from the tool-pin hole. The samples welded with the optimum parameters presented comparable properties with the base materials and even a slight increase in the tensile strength. The highest tensile and impact strengths were 14.4 MPa and 2.45 kJ/m², respectively, which is 105% and 89% of those of the base material. XRD, FTIR, and SEM were also applied to assess the property changes in the HDPE pipes after the FSW process. The morphological analysis evidenced that the crystalline structure of the welded sample was similar to that of the base material, proving the effectiveness of the proposed technology. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ultrasound for Material Characterization and Processing II)

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19 pages, 6344 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Influence of Pulse–Pause Sequences on the Self-Heating Behavior in Continuous Carbon Fiber-Reinforced Composites under Ultrasonic Cyclic Three-Point Bending Loads

by Aravind Premanand and Frank Balle

Materials 2022, 15(10), 3527; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15103527 - 13 May 2022

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 2511

Abstract

Several studies have been conducted in the Very High Cycle Fatigue (VHCF) regime on Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymers (CFRP) in search of their fatigue limit beyond their typical service life, which is itself in the order of 10⁸ loading cycles. The ultrasonic fatigue test (UFT) method has been recently gaining attention for conducting fatigue experiments up to 10⁹ loading cycles. This can be attributed to the reduction of testing time, as the testing facility operates at a cyclic frequency of 20 kHz. The fatigue loading in UFT is usually performed in a pulse–pause sequence to avoid specimen heating and undesirable thermal effects. For this study, the pulse–pause combination of the UFT methodology was explored and its influence on the self-heating behavior of the CFRP material was analyzed. This was realized by monitoring the temperature evolution in the CFRP specimens at different pulse–pause combinations and correlating it with their final damage morphologies. From the obtained results, it is concluded that the specimen heating phenomenon depends on several variables such as cyclic loading amplitude, the pulse–pause combination, and the damage state of the material. Finally, it is proposed that the test procedure, as well as the testing time, can be further optimized by designing the experiments based on the self-heating characteristic of the composite and the glass transition temperature (Tg) of the polymer matrix. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ultrasound for Material Characterization and Processing II)

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20 pages, 5305 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Adhesive Joints of Additively Manufactured Adherends: Ultrasonic Evaluation of Adhesion Strength

by Jakub Kowalczyk, Dariusz Ulbrich, Kamil Sędłak and Michał Nowak

Materials 2022, 15(9), 3290; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15093290 - 4 May 2022

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1991

Abstract

Adhesive joints are widely used in the construction of machines and motor vehicles. Manufacturers replace them with the welding and spot-welding methods due to the lack of damage to the material structure in the joint area. Moreover, it is aimed at reducing the weight of vehicles and producing elements with complex shapes. Therefore, additive manufacturing technology has been increasingly used in the production stage. This fact has not only changed the view on the possibilities of further development of the production technology itself, but it has also caused an intense interest among a greater number of companies in the advantages of structural optimization. There is a natural relationship between these two areas in the design and production, allowing for almost unlimited possibilities of designing new products. The main goal of the research described in this article was to determine the correlation between the strength of the adhesive joint of elements produced using additive technology and the parameters of the ultrasonic wave propagating in the area of the adhesive bond. The tests were carried out on samples made of AlSiMg0.6 material and a structural adhesive. Strength tests were performed to determine the shear force which damaged the joint. Furthermore, an ultrasonic echo technique enabling the determination of a nondestructive measure of the quality and strength of the joint was developed. The samples of the adhesive joints had a strength of about 18.75–28.95 MPa, which corresponded to an ultrasonic measure range of 4.6–7.8 dB. The determined regression relationship had a coefficient of determination at the level of 0.94. Additional ultrasonic tests of materials made with the additive technology confirmed its different acoustic properties in relation to aluminum produced with the standard casting or extrusion process. Designated dependence combining the mechanical strength and the decibel difference between the first and second impulses from the bottom of the joint may constitute the basis for the development of a nondestructive technique for testing the strength of adhesive joints. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ultrasound for Material Characterization and Processing II)

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21 pages, 14140 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Correlation Tests of Ultrasonic Wave and Mechanical Parameters of Spot-Welded Joints

by Dariusz Ulbrich and Marta Kańczurzewska

Materials 2022, 15(5), 1701; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15051701 - 24 Feb 2022

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 2260

Abstract

Resistance spot welding as the basic method of joining car body elements has been used in the automotive industry for many years. For these connections, it is required to obtain the appropriate diameter of the weld nugget, which results in a high strength and durability of the connection during vehicle operation. The article presents the methodology of testing spot-welded joints using both destructive methods: shearing test of the spot weld and the ultrasonic method. The main goals of the performed tests are (1) to determine the correlation between the mechanical strength of a joint, measured in kN, and the selected parameters of the ultrasonic longitudinal wave with a frequency of 20 MHz propagating in the area of the spot weld and (2) to build and verify the predictive models of the weld nugget quality. The correlation of these parameters allows assessing the strength of the connection with the use of a non-destructive test method. On the basis of the performed analyses, it was determined that there is a strongly positive correlation between the number of reverse echoes and the force necessary to destroy the spot weld (0.41) and the diameter of the weld nugget (0.50). A strong negative correlation was also obtained between the number of echoes and the strength (−0.69) and diameter of the weld nugget (−0.72). Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ultrasound for Material Characterization and Processing II)

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