Structural Health Monitoring: The Use Of Acoustic Emission To Optimize The Fdm Additive Manufacturing Process

Author

Ethan Phillips, Prairie View A&M University

Date of Award

12-2023

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Engineering (MSE)

Degree Discipline

Mechanical Engineering

Abstract

Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) has gained widespread popularity as an affordable, versatile, and user-friendly additive manufacturing technique. However, ensuring consistent and high-quality prints remains a significant challenge. This study investigated the potential use of Nondestructive Evaluation (NDE) in the form of Acoustic Emission (AE) to optimize the FDM 3D printing process, including filament defects and the selection of print parameters. AE monitoring involves the detection and analysis of acoustic waves generated during the printing post-process, providing valuable insights into the dynamic behavior of a specimen with respect to the selected print parameters and integrity of the system. Specific acoustic patterns associated with different combinations of printing parameters can be identified by capturing and analyzing AE signals.

An experimental setup was established to capture the acoustic emissions generated during tensile testing process to achieve this. Two high-sensitivity piezoelectric sensors were placed on the ASTM D638 specimen under a tensile load to record the acoustic signals in real-time. A combination of 3 levels of 3 printing parameters, 0.10/0.20/0.30 mm layer thickness, 225/200/180 °C nozzle temperature, and 70/50/30 mm/s printing speed were selected during the printing process for experimental analysis. Feature extraction methods were employed to identify distinctive characteristics in the AE signals associated with different combinations. The final results demonstrated the potential of AE monitoring as an effective tool for quality control in FDM 3D printing. The developed classification method achieved a high accuracy rate in determining the best possible combination of parameters, enabling the selection of the most efficient parameter choosing for future prints. The proposed AE monitoring approach offers a nondestructive, real-time, and cost-effective solution to detect and provide valuable information of structural health, enhancing overall quality of the FDM printing process, thereby leading to improved mechanical properties among polymer fabricated objects. Additionally, this research contributes to the advancement of quality control techniques in additive manufacturing, particularly when dealing with the use of NDE methods as manufacturers can determine the most reliable combinations of printing based on their necessities. This research explored the correlation between detected AE patterns and mechanical property characteristics through tensile testing to establish a quantitative relationship.

Index Terms— Acoustic emission (AE), additive manufacturing (AM), ASTM D638, fused deposition modeling (FDM), nondestructive evaluation (NDE), print parameters, quality control.

Committee Chair/Advisor

Rambod Rayegan

Committee Member

Jaejong Park

Committee Member

Xiaobo Peng

Publisher

Prairie View A&M University

Rights

Date of Digitization

1-11-2024

Contributing Institution

John B Coleman Library

City of Publication

Prairie View

MIME Type

Application/PDF

Recommended Citation

Phillips, E. (2023). Structural Health Monitoring: The Use Of Acoustic Emission To Optimize The Fdm Additive Manufacturing Process. Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.pvamu.edu/pvamu-theses/1529