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INTRODUCTION OF NDT ULTRASONIC

Ultrasonic testing (UT) is used for detecting flaws and discontinuity in


the internal structure of materials like steel, concrete, wood-castings, forged
materials, welds and alloys. During the process of ultrasonic testing, no
damage is caused to the materials inspected. Ultrasonic testing thus falls in
the non-destructive testing group (NDT). Know more about this technology in
a greater detail. Ultrasonic Testing (UT) uses high frequency sound energy
to conduct examinations and make measurements. Ultrasonic inspection can
be used for flaw detection/evaluation, dimensional measurements, material
characterization, and more. To illustrate the general inspection principle, a
typical pulse/echo inspection configuration as illustrated below will be used.

A typical ultrasonic testing (UT) inspection system consists of several


functional units, such as the pulser/receiver, transducer, and display devices.
A pulser/receiver is an electronic device that can produce high voltage
electrical pulses. Driven by the pulser, the transducer generates high
frequency ultrasonic energy. The sound energy is introduced and propagates
through the materials in the form of waves. When there is a discontinuity
(such as a crack) in the wave path, part of the energy will be reflected back
from the flaw surface. The reflected wave signal is transformed into an
electrical signal by the transducer and is displayed on a screen. In the applet
below, the reflected signal strength is displayed versus the time from signal
generation to when a echo was received. Signal travel time can be directly
related to the distance that the signal traveled. From the signal, information
about the reflector location, size, orientation and other features can
sometimes be gained.
OBJECTIVES

Introduction provides a simplified introduction to the NDT method of


ultrasonic testing and to effectively perform an inspection using ultrasonics.

EQUIPMENT
1 Unit Ultrasonic Flaw Detector

PROCEDUR OF NDT ULTRASONIC TEST

Ultrasonic flaw detection is basically a comparative technique. Using


appropriate reference standards along with a knowledge of sound wave
propagation and generally accepted test procedures, a trained operator
identifies specific echo patterns corresponding to the echo response from
good parts and from representative flaws. The echo pattern from an test
piece may then be compared to the patterns from these calibration
standards to determine its condition.

Straight Beam Testing

Straight beam testing utilizing contact, delay line, dual element, or


immersion transducers is generally employed to find cracks or delaminations
parallel to the surface of the test piece, as well as voids and porosity. It
utilizes the basic principle that sound energy traveling through a medium will
continue to propagate until it either disperses or reflects off a boundary with
another material, such as the air surrounding a far wall or found inside a
crack.
In this type of test, the operator couples the transducer to the test
piece and locates the echo returning from the far wall of the test piece, and
then looks for any echoes that arrive ahead of that backwall echo,
discounting grain scatter noise if present. An acoustically significant echo
that precedes the backwall echo implies the presence of a laminar crack or
void. Through further analysis, the depth, size, and shape of the structure
producing the reflection can be determined.

Sound energy will travel to the far side of a part, but reflect earlier if a
laminar crack or similar discontinuity is presented. In some specialized
cases, testing is performed in a through transmission mode, where sound
energy travels between two transducers placed on opposite sides of the test
piece. If a large flaw is present in the sound path, the beam will be
obstructed and the sound pulse will not reach the receiver.

Angle Beam Testing

Cracks or other discontinuities perpendicular to the surface of a test


piece, or tilted with respect to that surface, are usually invisible with straight
beam test techniques because of their orientation with respect to the sound
beam. Such defects can occur in welds, in structural metal parts, and many
other critical components. To find them, angle beam techniques are used,
employing either common angle beam (wedge) transducer assemblies or
immersion transducers aligned so as to direct sound energy into the test
piece at a selected angle. The use of angle beam testing is especially
common in weld inspection.

Typical angle beam assemblies make use of mode conversion and Snell's
Law to generate a shear wave at a selected angle (most commonly 30, 45,
60, or 70 degrees) in the test piece. As the angle of an incident longitudinal
wave with respect to a surface increases, an increasing portion of the sound
energy is converted to a shear wave in the second material, and if the angle
is high enough, all of the energy in the second material will be in the form of
shear waves.

There are two advantages to designing common angle beams to take


advantage of this mode conversion phenomenon. First, energy transfer is
more efficient at the incident angles that generate shear waves in steel and
similar materials. Second, minimum flaw size resolution is improved through
the use of shear waves, since at a given frequency, the wavelength of a
shear wave is approximately 60% the wavelength of a comparable
longitudinal wave.
DISCUSSION

ADVANTAGES OF NDT ULTRASONIC TEST

1. High penetrating power, which allows the detection of flaws deep in


the part.
2. High sensitivity, permitting the detection of extremely small flaws.
3. Only one surface need be accessible.
4. Greater accuracy than other nondestructive methods in determining
the depth of internal flaws and the thickness of parts with parallel
surfaces.
5. Some capability of estimating the size, orientation, shape and nature
of defects.
6. Nonhazardous to operations or to nearby personnel and has no effect
on equipment and materials in the vicinity.

DISADVANTAGES OF NDT ULTRASONIC TEST

1. Manual operation requires careful attention by experienced technicians


2. Extensive technical knowledge is required for the development of
inspection procedures.
3. Parts that are rough, irregular in shape, very small or thin, or not
homogeneous are difficult to inspect.
4. Surface must be prepared by cleaning and removing loose scale, paint,
etc, although paint that is properly bonded to a surface usually need
not be removed.
5. Couplants are needed to provide effective transfer of ultrasonic wave
energy between transducers and parts being inspected unless a non-
contact technique is used. Non-contact techniques include Laser and
Electro Magnetic Acoustic Transducers (EMAT).
6. Inspected items must be water resistant, when using water based
couplants that do not contain rust inhibitors.

APPENDIX OF NDT ULTRASONIC TEST


An example of Ultrasonic Testing (UT) on blade roots of a
V2500 IAE aircraft engine.
Step 1: The UT probe is placed on the root of the blades
to be inspected with the help of a special borescope tool
(video probe).
Step 2: Instrument settings are input.
Step 3: The probe is scanned over the blade root. In this
case, an indication (peak in the data) through the red line
(or gate) indicates a good blade; an indication to the left
of that range indicates a crack.

At a construction site, a technician tests a pipeline


weld for defects using an ultrasonic phased array
instrument. The scanner, which consists of a frame
with magnetic wheels, holds the probe in contact
with the pipe by a spring. The wet area is the
ultrasonic couplant that allows the sound to pass
into the pipe wall using the couplant increases the

Non-destructive testing of a swing shaft showing spline


cracking

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