The change in ultrasonic nonlinear property of a titanium alloy subjected to cyclic loading has been studied, with an objective to develop a new characterization methodology for quantifying the level of damage in the material undergoing fatigue. In order to determine the degree of nonlinearity, the ultrasonic second harmonic generation technique has been used. The second harmonic signal was monitored during the fatigue process, and a substantial increase in the second harmonic amplitude (180% increase in nonlinear factor) was observed. This indicates that the second harmonic signal is very sensitive to the microstructural changes in the material caused by fatigue.

A nonlinear laser ultrasonic system was developed and used to characterize the fatigue state of a fractured Ti-6Al-4V sample with high spatial-resolution and sensitivity. The measurement system is built around a scanning heterodyne interferometer, which allows detailed displacement field images to be created and visualized for propagating surface and bulk acoustic fields on a material surface. An assessment of the local fatigue damage of the material was made using nonlinear ultrasonic interaction principles, where the local amplitudes of the fundamental and second harmonic displacement fields are monitored simultaneously. This provides a means for evaluating the local acoustical nonlinearity parameter, p, which can be related to the accumulation of fatigue damage in a material. A large increase in p was observed between the unfatigued area (near the grip section) and the heavily fatigued area (gauge section) for a fractured dogbone specimen. The measurements show the potential for spatially-resolving the local fatigue state of a material using laser ultrasonics.

Variation in acoustic nonlinearity has been monitored in real time during fatigue, on four dogbone specimens of Ti-6A1-4V, under low cycle fatigue conditions, from the virgin state all the way to fracture. The results of these experiments show that the acoustic nonlinearity undergoes large changes during the fatigue and follows a similar trend for the material under given fatigue test conditions. Transmission electron microscopic (TEM) examination of the samples with similar composition fatigued to different stages indicates a gradual change in the microstructure and dislocation density, which correlates with the changes in acoustic nonlinearity.

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