Acoustic Emission and Deep Learning for the Classification of the Mechanical Behavior of AlSi10Mg AM-SLM Specimens

In this research paper, the acoustic emission technique and a deep learning framework based on two types of pre-trained CNN models (alexNet and squeezeNet) and a new model are proposed to characterize and classify the mechanical behavior of AlSi10Mg components. Specimens are built in a Selective Laser Melting machine with different bed orientations along X, Y, Z, and 45 degrees. Tensile tests are performed, and AE signals are recorded from these tests. To characterize the elastic and plastic deformation stages, a time-frequency domain analysis was performed using CWT-based spectrograms. Three different categories of damage classification strategies were implemented, and CNN models were trained for each strategy. CNN models including AlexNet, SqueezeNet, and the new model were used. Several training modes were performed to determine the CNN model that can accurately classify AE data. Understanding the minimum set of AE signals needed to train the CNN while having 100% accuracy and understanding the parameters affecting the accuracy of a CNN and the training time for the efficient classification of AE signals are the main objectives of this work. The results obtained demonstrated that the new simplified CNN model proposed can accurately classify the AE signals in a short time compared to AlexNet and SqueezeNet.