Influence of Remaining Support Structures on the Ultrasonic Testing of Additively Manufactured Components

In additive manufacturing, support structures are required to stabilize overhangs and ensure the geometric accuracy of components. However, their design represents a trade-off: while delicate structures facilitate easier removal after the build process, they limit heat dissipation during fabrication. Variations in support structure design therefore affect local heat transfer, leading to differences in residual stresses, microstructure and surface quality.

As these effects can also influence the results of non-destructive testing methods, understanding the impact of support structures on ultrasonic testing (UT) is of particular interest. Performing UT directly on components with intact support structures offers the advantage of enabling early quality assessment without time- and cost-intensive post-processing. This allows potential manufacturing defects to be detected prior to component removal, significantly increasing the efficiency of quality assurance in additive manufacturing.
In this work, the influence of different support structure designs on the reflection behavior of ultrasonic waves is investigated using both experimental and numerical approaches. In addition to ultrasonic measurements, simulation-based models are employed to analyze sound propagation and reflection within regions containing support structures. The aim is to evaluate to what extent reliable ultrasonic testing can be performed without prior removal of the support structures in practical industrial applications today.