Extended datasets for multi-scale mixed modality microstructure assessment of titanium

Abstract

The sensors used for nondestructive evaluation (NDE) play a crucial role in ensuring aircraft availability. The current NDE paradigm often relies on mono-modal testing and signal-over-threshold criteria to provide robust defect or damage detection, not characterization. This approach works for go/no-go inspections of critical flaws that respond strongly to specific physical stimuli; for example, the electromagnetic method of eddy current testing (ECT) is sensitive enough to the abrupt change in conductivity of surface-breaking cracks in metals that it can be used exclusively for certain practical safety inspections. Yet, there are cases where this approach proves insufficient. Consider characterization of problematic microtexture regions (MTR) in certain titanium alloys, which exceeds the capabilities of any one NDE technique. In this work, a data fusion-based solution to MTR characterization is explored. The material problem and potential inspection methods are discussed. Registered datasets from these methods are presented and made available to the community.