Ultrasonic Assessment of Metal Microstructures, Modelling and Validation

The uniformity of strip rolled steel and its mechanical properties are intrinsically linked to the complex microstructure along the strip length. Ultrasonic methods are sensitive to differences in grain size, grain distribution and texture. This with the intention to provide suitable tools to inline monitors the properties of hot rolled steel. In this paper, we present a comparison of results from numerical and analytical simulations of the elastic wave propagation in deterministic and stochastic models of the microstructures. Modelled microstructures are used to provide the flexibility of assessing single microstructural parameters of different steel grades and rolling conditions. The individual simulations are validated against laser ultrasonic measurements on metal sheets in thickness range of 2mm-5mm, which were independently characterized metallurgically. The correlation to parameters as texture, grain size and dual phase composition was addressed. The simulation facilitates the development of methodologies to identify quantitative values that will enable to non-destructively assess the quality of a component. Different methods are developed based on changes in attenuation and velocity. These were tested against the simulated as well as the experimental data.