Measuring and analyzing defects of Additive Manufactured Ti-6Al-4V
Specimens through Image Segmentation
Abstract
The use of additive manufacturing has increased significantly in recent
years, particularly in the aerospace industry. However, AM materials
often exhibit defects that adversely impact fatigue performance. This
study examines the geometric and morphological features of critical
defects observed in Ti-6Al-4V specimens. A framework for automatic
fatigue failure analysis through computer vision is proposed. An
AI-based tool was trained to identify critical defects, measure their
proximity to the surface, and quantify 14 geometric and morphological
features. The findings indicate that surface proximity is the most
influential factor in fatigue life classification, with defects near the
surface exerting a negative impact on performance. No clear trend was
observed in defect morphology beyond a certain surface distance. For
lack-of-fusion defects classified as critical, the X-parameter
model was applied and a correlation of R 2 = 0 . 9 1 with the measured
CTF was obtained.