In-situ prediction of α-phase volume fraction in titanium alloy using laser ultrasonic with support vector regression

A laser ultrasonic based non-contact detection method combined with support vector regression (SVR) was proposed for the first time for in-situ predicting the volume fraction of alpha-phase in titanium alloy (Ti-10V-2Fe-3Al). The alloy specimens were heated with incremental temperatures from 820 to 1100 degrees C to obtain different microstructures and volume fraction of alpha-phase, and the nonlinear relationship between the parameter of Rayleigh ultrasonic wave (velocity, amplitude and peak frequency) and the volume fraction of alpha-phase was established and analyzed by the combination of laser ultrasonic experiment and metallographic analysis. The SVR, with ultrasonic parameters and heat treatment parameters (heating and cooling rate, holding time and holding temperature) as input features, was implemented to predict the volume fraction of alpha-phase, achieving a relative mean error less than 5%. The results indicate that the SVR-based laser ultrasonic technique can be applied as a reliable and effective method for in-situ characterization of volume fraction of alpha-phase in titanium alloy. (C) 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

This study proposed a non-contact detection method combining laser ultrasonic and SVR for predicting the volume fraction of alpha-phase in titanium alloy. By analyzing the relationship between ultrasonic parameters and the volume fraction of alpha-phase, SVR was used to predict the volume fraction with a relative mean error less than 5%. Results indicate that the SVR-based laser ultrasonic technique is a reliable and effective method for in-situ characterization of alpha-phase volume fraction in titanium alloy.