ULTRASONIC MONITORING OF THE ACCUMULATION OF AGING DAMAGE AND RECOVERY OF THE USEFUL LIFETIME OF INDUSTRIAL PARTS

A method is described for monitoring changes in the strength propertie s of steels during fatigue testing based on measuring the velocity of propagation of ultrasound. It is shown to be possible to detect the da ngerous stage of development of fatigue damage for individual industri al parts. A method is also proposed for restoring the function of manu factured items by treating them with high-power electric current pulse s. It is shown that such treatment significantly increases the useful lifetime and can prevent fatigue failure. (C) 1997 American Institute of Physics.