An automated method for detecting and classifying three classes of surface defects in rolled metal has been developed, which allows for conducting defectoscopy with specified parameters of efficiency and speed. The possibility of using the residual neural networks for classifying defects has been investigated. The classifier based on the ResNet50 neural network is accepted as a basis. The model allows classifying images of flat surfaces with damage of three classes with the general accuracy of 96.91% based on the test data. The use of ResNet50 is shown to provide excellent recognition, high speed, and accuracy, which makes it an effective tool for detecting defects on metal surfaces.

The authors developed a method for the automated detection and calculation of quantitative parameters of dimples of ductile fracture on the digital images of fracture surfaces obtained at different scales. The processing algorithm of fractographic images was proposed, which allowed high quality recognition of the shape and size of dimples to be achieved, taking into account the morphological features of their digital images. The developed method for identifying dimples of various physical and morphological characteristics was tested on the VT23M alloy. The test results showed that the method meets the quality requirements for the automated diagnostics of fracture mechanisms of titanium alloys.

An automated method for analyzing the shape and size of dimples of ductile tearing formed during static and impact fracture of titanium alloys VT23 and VT23M is proposed. The method is based on the analysis of the image topology. The method contains the operations of smoothing the initial fractographic image; its convolution with a filter to identify the topological ridges; thresholding with subsequent skeletonization to identify boundaries between dimples; clustering to isolate the connected areas that represent the sought objects—dimples. For each dimple, the following quantitative characteristics were calculated: area, coefficient of roundness and visual depth in units of image intensity. The surface of ductile tearing was studied by analyzing the peculiarities of parameter distribution of the found dimples. The proposed method is applied to fractograms of fracture surfaces of titanium alloys VT23 and VT23M.

The research of fractographic images of metals is an important method that allows obtaining valuable information about the physical and mechanical properties of a metallic specimen, determining the causes of its fracture, and developing models for optimizing its properties. One of the main lines of research in this case is studying the characteristics of the dimples of viscous detachment, which are formed on the metal surface in the process of its fracture. This paper proposes a method for detecting dimples of viscous detachment on a fractographic image, which is based on using a convolutional neural network. Compared to classical image processing algorithms, the use of the neural network significantly reduces the number of parameters to be adjusted manually. In addition, when being trained, the neural network can reveal a lot more characteristic features that affect the quality of recognition in a positive way. This makes the method more versatile and accurate. We investigated 17 models of convolutional neural networks with different structures and selected the optimal variant in terms of accuracy and speed. The proposed neural network classifies image pixels into two categories: “dimple” and “edge”. A transition from a probabilistic result at the output of the neural network to an unambiguously clear classification is proposed. The results obtained using the neural network were compared to the results obtained using a previously developed algorithm based on a set of filters. It has been found that the results are very similar (more than 90% similarity), but the neural network reveals the necessary features more accurately than the previous method.

Modern neural networks have made great strides in recognising objects in images and are widely used in defect detection. However, the output of a neural network strongly depends on both the training dataset and the conditions under which the image was acquired for analysis. We have developed a software–hardware method for evaluating the effect of variable lighting on the results of defect recognition using a neural network model. The proposed approach allows us to analyse the recognition results of an existing neural network model and identify the optimal range of illumination at which the desired defects are recognised most consistently. For this purpose, we analysed the variability in quantitative parameters (area and orientation) of damage obtained at different degrees of illumination for two different light sources: LED and conventional incandescent lamps. We calculated each image’s average illuminance and quantitative parameters of recognised defects. Each set of parameters represents the results of defect recognition for a particular illuminance level of a given light source. The proposed approach allows the results obtained using different light sources and illumination levels to be compared and the optimal source type/illuminance level to be figured out. This makes implementing a defect detection environment that allows the best recognition accuracy and the most controlled product quality possible. An analysis of a steel sheet surface showed that the best recognition result was achieved at an illuminance of ~200 lx. An illuminance of less than ~150 lx does not allow most defects to be recognised, whereas an illuminance larger than ~250 lx increases the number of small objects that are falsely recognised as defects.