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Austenitic Weld Inspection with EMAT Phased Array
Huidong Gao, Syed Ali, and Borja Lopez
Innerspec Technologies, Inc
4004 Murray Place, VA, 24501



ABSTRACT. Austenitic welds are widely used in nuclear, petrochemical, and process industries. The
strong material anisotropy and coarse grain structure in the dendritic weld zone makes these welds very
difficult to inspect with conventional techniques. It is well known that the Shear Horizontal (SH) wave is
very well suited for this inspection, and that EMAT is the best technique for generating this wave mode, but
lack of equipment has prevented its use outside of the research laboratory. In this paper we present the
development of a novel phased-array EMAT instrument and tandem EMAT sensor, and the results obtained
on thick stainless steel weldments. The results corroborate the validity of the technique and the capabilities
of the equipment, which open up new possibilities both for research and field use.

Keywords: Ultrasonic, Austenitic Weld, EMAT, Phased Array, Tandem Test


1. Introduction

Austenitic stainless steel is widely used in the nuclear and petrochemical industries as well as other high-
temperature processes due to its superior resistance to corrosion. Of the many types of austenitic weld
joints, the most common are stainless to stainless steel, stainless to carbon steel with inconel butter, and
300 series stainless to inconel. Austenitic welds have a strongly textured columnar grain structure that
scatter ultrasonic energy and skew the waves, which make them very difficult to inspect using traditional
ultrasonic inspection systems [1].

The most common wave mode for weld inspection, Shear Vertical, suffers the most skewing due to the
anisotropy of austenitic crystal structures. Longitudinal waves skew significantly less than Shear Vertical
on austenitic materials, but still experience strong mode conversion at structural and weld boundaries and
require access to both sides of the weld. Early research in the 1980s showed that the Shear Hori zontal
wave does not present mode conversion at structure boundaries, so it was recognized as a potential
solution for inspection of these welds [2].

Notwithstanding this, Shear energy does not travel through low-density couplants and the horizontal
polarization cannot be easily excited through mode conversion with a wedge, so it is very difficult to
generate with conventional piezoelectric transducers and it is impractical in field use. Electromagnetic
Acoustic Transducer (EMAT) on the other hand is an effective alternative to generate SH waves in
ultrasonic testing. The mechanisms for sound generation using EMAT are Lorentz force and
magnetostriction [3, 4]. Lorentz force is the dominant mechanism for sound generation in typical austenitic
steel since it has very weak or no magnetism.

Figure 2 provides a schematic of EMAT sound generation using Lorentz force and a comparison with a
typical piezoelectric transducer. A typical EMAT sensor consists of two parts, a magnet and a coil. When
the coil is excited with AC current, eddy currents will be generated in the austenitic steel located below the
coil. The interaction between the eddy current and a biased magnetic field generates Lorentz force. This
force generates ultrasonic waves that propagate into the austenitic material. In a reciprocal process, the
interaction of elastic waves in the presence of a magnetic field induces currents in the receiving EMAT coil
circuit.




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Figure 1: Principle of Lorentz force EMAT and a comparison
to Piezoelectric transducer for generation of normal beam

The idea of using EMAT generated SH waves for austenitic weld inspection has been around for nearly two
decades. In their 1985 report "The ultrasonic inspection of austenitic materials -State of the art report",
Hudgell and Gray [1] already concluded that "The development of EMAT should be encouraged". However,
the development of EMAT for this application had to overcome two severe problems:

Austenitic materials have very low conductivity which affects the ability to generate eddy currents,
hence sound, with an EMAT. Compared to aluminum, another non-ferromagnetic material where
EMAT generation in strictly through Lorentz forces, stainless can be 10-15 times more resistive with
proportional effects on signal-to-noise.
The design of an EMAT probe for SH wave generation at an angle with Lorentz forces, require the use
of alternating magnetic poles. Even though the capabilities and availability of pulsed and permanent
magnets has increased significantly in the last few years, there is a practical limitation on the size of the
magnet below which the magnetic field becomes too weak, thus constraining the design options.
Moreover, because of ringing effects in the magnets and the difficulty in isolating them from the coil, SH
waves at an angle can only be practically generated in a pitch-catch arrangement in which the
transmitter and receivers are different elements separated physically.

The end result is that despite of many attempts in the past [7, 8], EMATs are still not used in the field for
austenitic weld inspection. As the leader in EMAT technology, researchers and engineers at Innerspec
have been working on this problem since 2003, and have filed several patents for equipment used in this
application. In a paper presented in 2010, we introduced an 8 Channel instrument with up to 20 kW of
instant power per channel, and an angled pitch-catch SH wave phased array 2-sensor arrangement with
permanent magnet arrays [9]. In this paper, we will introduce a new tandem phased array EMAT sensor,
and the results obtained with it. This equipment has been tested by several multinational companies and
institutes specializing in nuclear power generation, and it has demonstrated the ability to reliably detect all
the defects in 6 different mockups.
.

Piezoelectric UT EMAT UT

EMAT Coil
Circuit
Ultrasonic Wave Ultrasonic Wave
Eddy Currents
Lorentz
Force
Magnetic Field


Couplant

PZT


Magnet



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2. Inspection System Description

2.1. High-Power 8-Channel EMAT Phased Array Instrument

The traditional disadvantage of EMAT transducer is its low efficiency in sound generation and reception. As
a result, EMAT systems typically produces less signal amplitude and require powerful pulsing electronics,
good noise reduction, and signal processing algorithms to enhance the signal to noise ratio. One of our
patent-pending innovations is a new tone-burst amplifier with an H-bridge topology that enjoys the highest
power to size output, efficiency, and wider frequency response of any equipment in the market.

Figure 2 shows a picture of our temate

PowerBox 8 that uses this technology to produce up to 2000Vpp

or 20kW of peak power per channel at 1% duty cycle in frequencies from 100kHz to 7MHz. Two X-Y built-
in encoders and 12 programmable Inputs/Outputs facilitate integration with a scanner and other external
equipment. Control is performed through an external PC over an Ethernet connection. The PC includes
our PowerUT

software with proprietary filters and other features devised specifically for EMAT
applications.












Figure 2: temate

PowerBox 8 Instrument
2.2. EMAT Phased Array Probe

Phased array technology has been widely used in ultrasonic testing to achieve higher sensitivity and
resolution. EMAT phased-arrays use a series of RF coils analogous to the small piezoelectric materials that
are arranged together in a piezoelectric phased array [10]. We have experimented with several designs of
EMAT phased array construction including a flexible electromagnet array (US Patent 7,165,453), a two
sensor construction with arrays in angled pitch catch, and a set of low profile permanent magnet array in
tandem configuration. Each design has different advantages, but the tandem sensor with a footprint of
25mm by 50mm is the ideal configuration for use on tubes because of its reduced dimension and simplicity
of operation.

Figure 3 shows a schematic of tandem pitch catch phased array for beam steering. The eight transmitters
are excited with independent time delays so waves constructively interfere with each other around the focal
spot to achieve a wave field of strong intensity. The reflected signals from the focal region arrive at each
element at a different time, and it is delayed according to focal laws so the signal from the focal region
sums up in phase. As a result, the ultrasonic beam can be steered across a predefined range. Without the
effect of mode conversion, shear horizontal waves can be focused at any range of angle, and can be used
for both zero degree, and angle beam steering.





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Figure 3: EMAT phased array sensor, and beam focusing principle

2.3. Inspection System Configuration



Figure 4: Basic components of EMAT inspection system
Figure 4 shows the components of our EMAT phased array inspection system. It includes a computer, the
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PowerBox 8, an eight-channel signal conditioning box, the sensor assembly, and interconnecting
cables.

Figure 5 shows the information flow in the system. The user sets in the computer all the controlling
parameters for the pulsing signal including tone-burst frequency and duration of the pulse. The instrument
receives this input and generates a low-voltage pulse train, which is subsequently amplified to high-voltage
that is fed through the signal conditioning box to the transmitter. With the high-voltage excitation, the
transducer generates sound waves that propagate into the material. The receiver detects ultrasonic waves
and converts them into electrical signals. These signals are amplified and filtered in the signal conditioning
box and sent to the instrument where they receive further amplification and treatment. The signal is then
digitized and sent to the PC for further processing if needed, display, and storage.

Transmitter Receiver



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In addition to the main signal flow, the computer can also communicate with other systems for automated
operation (start, stop and alarm).




Figure 5: Schematic of information flow in EMAT inspection system
2.4. Test Setup

For our laboratory tests, the sensor was attached to a XYZ gantry scanner with a fixture that allowed the
sensor to float freely and adapt to the curvature of the samples. Figure 6 shows the gantry, fixture and
sensor on a test sample.



Figure 6: Test system configuration; (a) Test Sample, (b) Mechanical fixture



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3. Test Results

3.1. Mockup Description

The sample shown in Figure 6 is a typical austenitic weld used in nuclear power stations. The thickness of
the sample is 50mm. There are 6 thermal fatigue type defects in the Heat Affected Zone, all located on one
side of the weld as shown in Figure 7. Defects A, C, and E are approximately 3 (76.2mm) long, whereas
defects B, D, and F are approximately 2 (50.8mm) long. The depth of the defects as a percentage of
thickness are 39%, 10%, 59%, 2%, 39%, and 24% respectively. For these tests, the samples have been
placed so the defects start from the bottom of the plate to represent ID defects in thick welds.


Figure 7: Defects in Test Mockup
3.2. Results

The most common and intuitive data presentation scheme in phased array is the sector scan (S-Scan), in
which the incident angle of the major ultrasonic beam is steered to cover a certain range by using different
focal laws. Conventional piezoelectric phased arrays generate a longitudinal wave in the sensor that can
be used as such or mode converted to shear vertical using a refractive wedge. Due to mode conversion
between longitudinal and shear waves, longitudinal wave inspection is limited to 30 from the normal, while
shear wave testing is typically conducted between 30 and 70.

Shear horizontal waves show nearly no mode conversion in isotropic materials. For austenitic material, the
mode conversion between shear horizontal wave and other modes is also not significant. The result is the
ability to scan at any angle from 0 to 90. For these tests, the scanning is set from 0 to +90 to show the
defects in the base material and HAZ.

Figure 8 shows the sector scans obtained on defect A from both sides of the weld. The reflected signals at
0 represent the multiple reflections from the back surface. The reflections at an angle show the location of
the defect. The key result from this test is the ability to reliably detect the defects from either side of the
weld, thanks to the ability of SH waves to penetrate austenitic materials. Inspecting from one side is highly
desirable when access to the other side is difficult or impossible. The equipment provides enough
sensitivity to detect the 1mm (2%) deep notch from both sides of the weld.



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Figure 8: Sector scan of defect A: (a) Same Side 75mm, (b) Opposite side 75mm

Figure 9: Sector Scan of defect B, (a) Same Side 50mm, (b) Opposite side 100mm

Figure 10: Sector Scan of defect C, (a) Same Side 50mm, (b) Opposite side 75mm
Defect
Defect



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Figure 11: Sector scan of defect D: (a) Same Side 50mm, (b) Opposite side 100mm

Figure 12: Defect E: (a) Same Side 50mm, (b) Opposite side 75mm

Figure 13: Defect F: (a) Same Side 50mm, (b) Opposite side 75mm




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4. Experience

The test system has been tested on different mockups used in nuclear power plants. The system was
capable of detecting all artificial defects in these samples with superior signal to noise than conventional
techniques. The pictures below show the mockups tested to date that include both stainless steel and
dissimilar metal welds. The results from these tests are proprietary and cannot be released.







Figure 14: Mockups Tested with EMAT Phased Array System





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5. Conclusions

In this paper we discussed recent developments in EMAT technology for the inspection of thick austenitic
welds. Using a high-power 8-channel EMAT instrument and a novel tandem SH phased array sensor, we
are able to detect defects in austenitic weld mockups from both sides of the weld with superior signal-to-
noise. The results from a 50mm sample are shown in detail.

In addition to the ability to detect defects from either side, this EMAT technique permits sweeping the wave
from 0 to 90 which provides a completely new benefit not available on traditional piezoelectric systems.
Using this system, it is possible to perform normal beam inspection of the base material, angle beam
inspection of the heat affected zone, the austenitic weld zone, and the heat affected area in the opposite
size of the weld, all at the same time and in one pass.

Future work will be geared towards improving sizing techniques as well as well as adding high-temperature
and submersion capabilities to the equipment.


REFERENCES
1. J. Huggell and B.S. Gray, The ultrasonic inspection of austenitic materials-state of the art report,
1985.
2. M.G. Silk, "A computer model for ultrasonic propagation in complex orthotropic structures",
Ultrasonics, 19, 208-212, (1981).
3. Thompson, R.B. in Physical Acoustics, Vol. 19. Edited by Thurston R.N. and Pierce A.D., Academic
Press, New York, 1990, 157-200.
4. M. Hirao and H. Ogi, EMATs for Science and industry-NonContacting Ultrasonic Ultrasonic
Measurements, Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2003.
5. Huidong Gao, Syed Ali, Borja Lopez, "Efficient detection of delamination in multilayered structures
using ultrasonic guided wave EMATs", NDT&E Int (2010), doi:10.1016/j.ndteint.2010.03.004,
6. Huidong Gao, Syed Ali, and Borja Lopez, "Inspection of Austenitic Weld with EMATs", Review of
Progress in Quantitative Nondestructive Evaluation, 29B, 1175-1181, (2010).
7. G. Hubschen, H.J. Salzburger, M. Kroning, et.al, Results and experiences of ISI of Austenitic and
dissimilar welds using SH-waves and EMUS-Probes, Elsevier Science Publishers, K. Kussmaul,
Editor, 1993.
8. Ludwig von Bernus, Werner Rathgeb, Rudi Schmid, Friedrich Mohr, Michael Kroning, "Current in-
service inspection of austenitic stainless steel and dissimilar metal welds in light water nuclear
power plants", Nuclear Engineering and Design, 151, 539-550, (1994).
9. Huidong Gao and Borja Lopez, Development of Single Channel and Phased Array
Electromagnetic Acoustic Transducer for Austenitic Weld Inspection, Materials Evaluation, Vol.68.
(7), 821-827, 2010.
10. Noel Dube, Introduction to Phased Array Ultrasonic Technology Applications, RDTech, 2004.