Modeling of ultrasonic propagation in heavy-walled centrifugally cast austenitic Stainless steel based on EBSD analysis

The ultrasonic inspection of heavy-walled centrifugally cast austenitic stainless steel (CCASS) is challenging due to the complex metallurgical structure. Numerical modeling could provide quantitative information on ultrasonic propagation and plays an important role in developing advanced and reliable ultrasonic inspection techniques. But the fundamental obstacle is the accurate description of the complex metallurgical structure. To overcome this difficulty, a crystal orientation map of a CCASS specimen in the 96 mm × 12 mm radial-axial cross section was acquired based on the electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD) technique and it was used to describe the coarse-grained structure and grain orientation. A model of ultrasonic propagation for CCASS was built according to the EBSD map. The ultrasonic responses of the CCASS sample were also tested. Some experimental phenomena such as structural noise and signal distortion were reproduced. The simulated results showed a good consistence with the experiments. The modeling method is expected to be effective for the precise interpretation of ultrasonic propagation in the polycrystalline structures of CCASS.