The aim of this project is to investigate the efficacy of three materials characterization methods, namely: near-field microwave, air-coupled UT and eddy current to evaluate “consistency” of metal powder in laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) additive manufacturing (AM) process. These methods can penetrate up to several millimeters inside of a powder bed. Consistency refers to variation in powder size distribution, surface properties (i.e., corrosion, roughness) and other undesired powder characteristics. Another objective is to investigate the potential for evaluating the gradient of powder property change as a function of powder depth. This constitutes a comprehensive and novel “combined” approach for evaluation powder consistency.
