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This paper reports on a study of the effects of cold work induced by surface enhancement treatment on conductivity profiles in nickel-base superalloys, as part of the on-going efforts aimed at evaluating the feasibility of characterizing near-surface residual stress profiles in peened engine components using a swept frequency eddy current (SFEC) technique. The approach is based on the empirical piezoresistivity effect that correlates conductivity changes with residual stress, but recent studies have shown that conductivity changes induced by peening processes are also influenced by metallurgical factors such as cold work. In this study, conductivity deviation profiles were obtained by model-based inversion of SFEC signals from a set of aged Inconel 718 samples, which were either shot peened or laser shock peened to produce different residual stress and cold work profiles. The laser shock peened samples exhibit a larger increase in surface conductivity and deeper conductivity profiles, which are attributed to a smaller amount of surface cold work and deeper residual stress profiles created by laser shock peening than by shot peening. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on a microstructural study of a nickel-base superalloy, Inconel 718, with a focus on quantifying precipitate density and their effects on conductivity variations. The study is motivated by eddy current (EC) characterization of residual stresses, where observed EC signals are attempted to correlate with stress profiles of shot peened superalloy surfaces. It has been observed that the correlation is less universal than anticipated, and in fact strongly influenced by the material hardness, or the aging conditions. For example, the soft sample surface exhibits significantly stronger EC signals than the fully hardened sample when both are shot peened at the same Almen intensity. Thus, the objective of the present study is to examine this complex material response against aging and shot peening treatments at the microstructure scale, by the use of techniques such as transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). We will describe preparations of a series of Inconel 718 samples that was aged and shot peened at various conditions, and present microstructural data obtained from SEM and TEM images such as precipitate densities, correlated with bulk properties such as the hardness and conductivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report on progress in a swept high frequency eddy current (SHFEC) technique for characterization of surface residual stress on shot-peened superalloy surfaces. Our aim here is to demonstrate the sensitivity of our measurement for practical shot peening intensities, i.e. at 4∼6 A. First, we present our improved probe and instrumentation being sufficiently sensitive to resolve the surface conditions at these low Almen intensities, where our earlier measurements encountered noise problems. The previous coil was also larger (18 mm in diameter) than desirable. Our new probe integrates smaller coils (12 mm in diameter, forming an AC bridge) and on-board electronics on a common printed circuit board, mutually connected at the shortest possible distance. The operational-amplifier-based electronics acts as impedance buffers, and maintains the cabling impedance at the characteristic 50 Ω between the probe board and the instruments. We have thus reduced the instrumentation noises. Second, we present the result of an iterative treatment-measurement experiment, performed on a 2”-by-3” Inconel 718 block specimen, initially polished to a mirror finish. After an initial baseline SHFEC measurement, we performed shot peening, an Almen strip deflection measurement, and a SHFEC measurement as one iteration cycle, and repeated the cycles multiple times at predetermined intervals. We will show the resulting SHFEC signals (i.e. lift-off normalized vertical-component signals) plotted against the Almen intensities. We then draw several conclusions from the experimental data, including a) the SHFEC signals increase monotonically in correlation with the Almen intensity increase, and b) the SHFEC signals exhibit sufficient deviations to resolve 4∼6 A intensities, while c) the SHFEC signals indicate saturation of the Inconel 718 response against peening, but the saturation occurs later in the iteration than indicated by the A-series Almen strip. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report on recent progress of a swept high frequency eddy current (SHFEC) technique for nondestructive characterization of residual stresses in engine materials with specific applications to shot-peened superalloy components. The technique determines conductivity depth profiles by model-based inversion of SHFEC data, and converts them into residual stress profiles using a material-based model which generally includes the piezoresistivity (PR) and possibly other non-PR effects. Improvement in detection coil and upgrades to the measurement system have extended the effective frequency upper bound to 70 MHz. A modified piezoresistivity theory, including the effect of texture on stress-induced conductivity changes, was developed in light of the experimental evidences of shot-induced changes of texture in peened Inconel 718 samples. The theory was applied to convert the conductivity profile to a residual stress depth profile, which agrees with the data taken by the standard layer removal XRD method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on a swept high-frequency eddy current (SHFEC) measurement method developed for electromagnetic nondestructive characterization of residual stresses in shot peened aerospace materials. In this approach, we regard shot-peened surfaces as modified surface layers of varying conductivity, and determine the conductivity deviation profile by inversion of the SHFEC data. The SHFEC measurement system consists of a pair of closely matched printed-circuit-board coils driven by laboratory instrument under software control. This provides improved sensitivity and high frequency performance compared to conventional coils, so that swept frequency EC measurements up to 50 MHz can be made to achieve the smallest skin depth of 80 μm for nickel-based superalloys. We devised a conductivity profile inversion procedure based on the laterally uniform multi-layer theory of Cheng, Dodd and Deeds. The main contribution of this paper is the methodology validation. Namely, the forward and inverse models were validated against measurements on artificial layer specimens consisting of metal films with different conductivities placed on a metallic substrate. The inversion determined the film conductivities which were found to agree with those measured using the direct current potential drop (DCPD) method. © 2007 American Institute of Physics [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes an eddy current model-based method for inverting near-surface conductivity deviation profiles of surface treated materials from swept-high frequency eddy current (SHFEC) data. This work forms part of our current research directed towards the development of an electromagnetic nondestructive technique for assessing residual stress of shot-peened superalloy components. The inversion procedure is based on the use of a parameterized function to describe the near-surface conductivity as a function of depth for a shot-peened surface, and the laterally uniform multi-layer theory of Cheng, Dodd and Deeds to calculate the resulting coil impedance deviations. The convergence of the inversion procedure has been tested against synthesized eddy current data. As a demonstration, the conductivity deviation profiles of a series of Inconel 718 specimens, shot peened at various Almen intensities, have been obtained by inversion. Several consistency tests were conducted to examine the reliability of the inverted conductivity profiles. The results show that conductivity deviation profiles can be reliably determined from SHFEC data within the accuracy of the current measurement system. © 2007 American Institute of Physics [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on an on-going project toward developing electromagnetic residual-stress characterization method. Specifically, we present recent work on an eddy current technique and model-based inversion method, specific to nickel-based superalloys. In our approach, we treat residual stress measurements essentially as a “layer-substrate” problem (a shot-peened layer on an alloy substrate), to which the swept-frequency EC technique is applicable. To this end, a high-sensitivity eddy current system with operating frequency up to 50MHz has been recently developed and validated. We present a description of our instrumentation that includes proprietary probes fabricated by the PCB technology, and laboratory-grade instruments under software control. The paper also describes the experimental procedure for performance studies, supported by preliminary data that distinguish clearly between surfaces before and after shot-peening for nickel-based alloys. In addition, we present forward and inverse model validations which will determine their reliability in the subsequent use in model-based residual stress profile inversion. © 2006 American Institute of Physics [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A recent effort toward developing electromagnetic, nondestructive method for characterizing residual stress on the surface of rotating engine components is described. It is explained that resistivity measurement such as eddy current or injection current methods can be indeed candidates, if one can successfully discriminate two competing sources of resistivity change after shot peening, i.e. stress and dislocation. A profile-assumed inversion method is proposed to utilize characteristic profile shape differences between the two sources, so that the required discrimination can be achieved. © 2005 American Institute of Physics [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]