Application of ultrasonic waves in measurement of hardness of welded carbon steels

The ultrasonic contact impedance technique and ultrasonic wave velocities have been widely used for non-destructive hardness measurement. Ultrasonic wave velocity shift provides through the thickness average hardness, however, the correlations are performed according to surface hardness. In order to accept this technique as a particular non-destructive method for determination of hardness, it is necessary to test it with industrial applications. A widely used joining (welding) technique is selected for this purpose. Samples of carbon steels with three different carbon contents, but similar composition, are annealed in order to obtain the softened samples with different hardness values. Rockwell B scale hardness of heat treated samples, which are assumed to be isotropic, are determined and correlated with ultrasonic wave velocity shifts. Effect of welding process on hardness is investigated using ultrasonic wave velocity shifts, and the results are verified with destructive hardness measurements.