Eddy current sensors optimization for defect detection in parts fabricated by L-PBF

Romain Saddoud (1) , Natalia Sergeeva-Chollet (1) , Michel Darmon (2)

1 LIC (CEA, LIST) - Laboratoire Instrumentation et Capteurs (CEA, LIST)
2 DISC (CEA, LIST) - Département Imagerie et Simulation pour le Contrôle (CEA, LIST)

The production of parts by additive manufacturing is an important issue for the reduction of manufacturing costs and the creation of complex geometries. Optical inspection is often imple-mented in the machines during the manufacturing process in order to monitor the possible gen-erated defects. However, to improve the understanding of the process and the quality of the manufactured parts, other non-destructive testing methods are studied. In this paper, the eddy current method is used for testing as this technique is adapted to detect surface and shallow de-fects in conductive materials. Using simulations with the CIVA Non Destructive Testing soft-ware package, several sensors and their parameters were tested in order to determine the most optimal ones: a separate transmitter/receiver sensor and an isotropic sensor were finally de-signed. The comparison of these sensors efficiency was made on the detection of notches and engraved letters based on simulation and experimental tests on parts fabricated by Laser Powder Bed Fusion (L-PBF) in order to determine the optimal sensor. The various tests showed that the isotropic sensor is the optimal one for the detection and characterization of defects.

Domaines: Physique [physics]

Romain Saddoud, Natalia Sergeeva-Chollet, Michel Darmon. Eddy current sensors optimization for defect detection in parts fabricated by L-PBF. Sensors, 2023, 23, pp.4336. ⟨10.3390/s23094336⟩. ⟨cea-04410404⟩