Test Systems

 Basically two Test systems available

 Contact
 Transducer in direct contact with specimen through Plastic
wedges, wear plates or flexible membranes
 A thin layer of liquid as couplant applied in between part surface
and transducer to remove air
 Immersion
 Entire part and transducer submerged in a tank of water
 Bubbler or squirter technique, sound beam propagated through a
column of flowing water impinging on the test surface, part not
necessarily immersed in water
 In both Water acts as a couplant between part surface and
transducer
 The immersion system lends itself for automated, mass production
process

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 Test Methods
 Both systems have common test methods
 Pulseecho
 Through-transmission
 Resonance
 Pulse-echo & Through transmission methods
employ same three techniques
 St.beam
 Angle-beam
 Surface
 Resonance method employs St.beam technique
only

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 COMMON NDT TECHNIQUES

Pulse echo Single crystal Transceiver Pulse echo - Dual Probes

Through Transmission-two separate probes

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 Pulse-echo
 A single probe probe emits short-
pulses of sound and receive
reflected pulses from any boundary,
surfaces, discontinuities in the
interval between emitting pulses.
 The received reflections displayed
on a CRT
 The same probe acts both as
transmitter & receiver
 The position of echoes indicate
depth of discontinuities from where
the probe is positioned or thickness
of part
 The height of echo indicates severity
of flaw area that is impinged and
returned to the transducer
 Suitable for st.beam,angle beam &
surface wave techniques

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 Through transmission
 Two separate transducers are utilised each on opposite
sides of part geometrically aligned
 One transducer transmits and the other receives.
 If a discontinuity lies in the sound path, the receiver
transducer obtains decreased signal amplitude
 Larger the area of discontinuity in the beam path larger
the reduction in received echo height, while there is no
display of position of discontinuity
 Limited to applications where both sides of part are
accessible

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 Resonance
 Requires a single transducer, tunable by a continuous wave
oscillator
 Continuous longitudinal waves are transmitted into the material
 The transmitted frequency is varied till standing waves are set-up
 Standing waves causes the specimen to vibrate with greater
amplitude
 Frequency at which resonance occurs is indicated as a display
in oscilloscope, deflection on a meter or a read-out display
 Unaccountable change in frequency means discontinuity
 Equipments fall into two category
 Thickness meters used for gauging, corrosion monitoring & gross
discontinuity
 Bond testers used to determine lack of bond

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 St.Beam
 Contact, Single crystal,
Longitudinal wave probe:
 used for detection of essentially
planar discontinuities
 major axis parallel to the surface
 limitations are
 on near surface resolution due to
“Dead Zone”
 “Near Field” effects.
 If thin materials are to be
inspected or if flaws are sought
close the surface, a delay line
probe or a twin crystal probe
should be used.

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 St.Beam
 Indications from discontinuities
just below the entry surface
within crystal ringing & entry
surface will not be detected
 The thickness of material
represented by the timebase
distance covered by these 3
signals is called the “Dead
Zone”
 for flaw detection St.beam
Probes with high “sensitivity”
have low damping.
 Probes with high resolution will
have high damping and used
for thickness measurements.

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 Angle beam Single crystal probe
 St.beam probe with the exception of
the wear plate being replaced , but
mounted on an angled plastic wedge.
 The angle of the wedge is carefully
calculated so that when placed on a
particular material the longitudinal
wave generated experiences “mode
conversion” and refraction to produce
a shear wave of the required angle to
detect obliquely oriented
discontinuities.
 Shear wave probes are available with
fixed (integral) wedges or removable
wedges enabling one probe to be used
for several different shear wave
angles.
 As they do not have a wear plate the
crystal will be easily damaged if
used without a wedge

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 surface wave probe
 plastic wedges are machined to
produce the 2nd critical angle,
shear wave probe with refracted
shear wave angle 90º and
becomes a Surface wave probe.
 Also known as Rayleigh waves.
 Surface waves have a velocity,
which is approximately 90% of a
shear wave (or 45% of a
longitudinal wave).
 will be attenuated or reflected
back by surface contamination
(paint, liquids, etc.) or small
surface breaking discontinuities.
 suitable for applications where the
surface is not readily accessible
for other inspection means
 care exercised when applying
couplant.

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 Surface wave Testing
 Surface waves closely follow the surface
of the material and have an elliptical
particle displacement
 will travel around complex geometry‟s
over long distances if the surface
condition allows it.
 will be stopped almost immediately and
may be reflected by any surface
contamination, such as water, oil,
grease or paint.
 also reflect from a sharp corner.
 Skin and stiffeners are machined from
solid plate.
 Inaccessible cracks are present running
from fuel transfer holes to edge of ribs.
This is a sealed tank with no internal
access. Except from the outside of the
lower wing skin.
 A shear wave goes through mode
conversion as it reaches the inner
surface of the hole.

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 St-beam Delay tip probe
 For detection of flaws
close to the sound entry
surface
 consists of a plastic
cylinder screwed into the
crystal as shown below.
 wave generated by the
crystal passes through
the plastic before it
reaches test specimen.
 A large portion of the
near field used up in the
plastic cylinder.

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 St-beam Delay tip probe
 Only the time base beyond the plastic
delay tip is monitored
 Combines crystal ringing & electric
zero signals are effectively eliminated.
 The interface between the delay tip
and the specimen will still produce a
signal that will conceal a portion of the
time base close to the entry surface.
 The amount of hidden material “Dead
Zone” will be considerably less than
with a regular contact, longitudinal
probe.
 When calculating delay tip thickness
required, 3 mm should be added
 Delay tip probes also be used
 when inspecting high temperature
components .The delay tip acts as an
insulator for the crystal.

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 St-beam Dual Probes
 used for thin materials or for
finding flaws close to the entry
surface.
 probe has 2 separate crystals
mounted as shown
 Through transmission mode is
selected.
 L-wave passes through a
wedge on a slight angle and
into the material where it
refracts slightly, but remains a
longitudinal wave because the
angle of incidence is below the
first critical angle.
 When the sound wave bounces
off the back wall of the material
it is received by the second
crystal
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 St-beam Dual Probes
 Least dead zone with dual crystal
probes
 best for near surface inspection or
thin material inspections.
 Limitations on thickness range
 The signal returning from the back
wall must be receiving crystal
 If the material is too thin, the
signal will not reach crystal after
just one bounce.
 If the material is too thick, the
returning signal will miss the probe
completely.
 When inspecting tubular products
the acoustic barrier axis should be
at 90º to the tube axis as shown
below
.

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 Plate (Lamb) wave Testing
 The whole plate flexes with
the wave propagation.
 Plates up to 3 wavelengths
thick can be inspected.
 Lamb waves are also
useful for inspecting
inaccessible areas.
 The velocity is frequency
dependent
 There are 2 modes of Lamb
wave propagation,
Symmetrical and
Asymmetrical.
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 Multiple Element probes (Mosaic)
 Any probe that contains more than 2
crystals (elements) is called a mosaic
probe.
 some utilize multiple elements to shape
the beam by having concentric elements
fired sequentially.
 Others have a long paintbrush type
arrangement consisting of many
elements (sometimes several hundred),
each fired sequentially to build up a “B”
scan image of the entire area beneath
the probe instantly. This is a
development of the principles used for
medical ultrasound.
 The probe are up to 100 mm long and if
swept sideways, can inspect a 100 mm
wide strip very quickly.
 These types of probes are ideally suited
to carbon fibre composite inspections
and for in-situ inspection of aircraft wing
skin to spar bond lines.
 This inspection was previously done
using º" diameter delay tip transducers
in an overlapping raster –scan pattern
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 Immersion technique
 Purest form of immersion testing
 both the part and the probe are immersed in a
fluid (usually water, with additives to combat
corrosion, fungi and suspended air bubbles).
 water acts as couplant
 As there is no contact between the probe and
the part, no wear plate is needed and high-
scanning speeds can be achieved.
 thinner crystals can be used, which ultimately
means higher frequency.
 The probe is scanned over the component in
an X – Y configuration to produce a raster
Scan pattern by the combined effects of the
“Bridge” (Which travels along the tank) and the
“Carriage” (Which travels across the bridge).
 probe / component, water path distance can be
adjusted by raising or lowering the “column”
as required.
 The angle of the probe can be adjusted using
the “Manipulator” (Angulator) ,varied to the
extent of producing shear waves in the part.
 Some tanks also have a turntable fitted which
allows circumferential components to be
scanned

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 Immersion Testing
 Advantages
 Speed of inspection
 Ability to control & direct sound beam
 Adaptability for automated scanning
 High frequency transducers practicable that improve
sensitivity of flaw detection
 Only a single crystal transducer is required for
inspection
 The longitudinal wave beam directed into part
through water column
 Either 0º Longitudinal wave or desired shear waves
(45º through 70º) are angles are introduced into
materials through water
 The water path is kept º th of part thickness plus 6
mm
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 Immersion technique
 Immersion tank systems allow use of
“focused beam transducers”.
 The beam is focused to a point at a particular
distance called the “focal point”.
 This concentrates the energy at this point
rather than having it disperse (spread) as is
the case with unfocused probes.
 Another way of preventing the beam from
spreading is to use a collimator, which is
basically a tube attached to the probe to
channel the beam
 Focused probes acts as a spherical lens,
and focuses the sound at the centre of its
radius.
 If a component is inspected for flaws in
specific area of its cross section, that area
can be gated. e.g. for bonded components,
the “bond line” would be gated.
 Any signals above a pre-determined
threshold will trigger the alarm or send a
proportional voltage signal to the recording
device
 part is submerged in a bath of water and a
submerged probe is scanned across it in a
raster scan pattern using pulse echo or
through transmission techniques to detect,
size and evaluate flaws.
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 Acoustic lenses
 Straight (flat) crystals with
a focusing lens attached
and causes the sound
waves to refract to a focal
point.
 referred to as “Acoustic
Lenses”
 Formula for calculating
focal length
 n = ratio of velocity
between lens material and
liquid velocity.
 V1-lens material
 V2 –Water

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 Bubbler, Squirter
 Bubbler & Squirter
 Sound beam projected through a nozzle on the probe.
 Suitable water column required for testing is permanently
maintained underneath the probe
 Sound beam directed perpendicular or at an angle to surface
 Can be adopted for through transmission, two separarate
probes used
 Bubbler is a modification of squinter
 Probe is immersed in water with inlet & outlet for flow of
water and probe is adjusted to maintain distance to part
 Applications
 High speed scanning of Plate, sheet, strip, cylindrical forms
& regularly shaped parts

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 Wheel type transducers
 Wheel Transducer
 Transducer mounted inside a water filled tyre
 Mounted on the axle & held in a fixed position
while the tire rotates
 Thhe wheel is is run across surfaces of parts or
held stationary while the part moves past the
wheel
 Applications
 Inspection of plate for laminations
 Billets for primary & secondary pipe
 Angle beam (45º) inspection

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 Squirter Probes
 In a squirter system the probe is
mounted in a nozzle assembly.
 Water is fed to the nozzle through
plastic pipes.
 Inside the nozzle the water passes by
the front face of the probe then
passes out of the nozzle through a
small diameter hole to produce a jet
of water, jet of water acts as a
couplant
 usually used in pairs to produce a
through transmission arrangement.
 pairs of probes kept in alignment and
usually achieved by mounting them
on a moveable gantry.
 The component is mounted rigidly
while the pair of probes on the gantry
performs the scanning action.
 Alternatively, the probes may be fixed
and the component passed between
the probes.

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 Bubbler Probes
 Bubbler Probes
 Low water pressure single
probe systems used
 The component rests on
the top of the probe nozzle
assembly
 water provides a couplant
cushion as the
components are manually
passed over the probe
assembly.

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 Wheel probes
 rare today.
 an old concept using large diameter
(150 mm – 300 mm) hollow rubber
wheels which have probes mounted
inside and are filled with glycol as a
coupling medium as shown below.
 this is a through transmission
arrangement, there will be no depth
information provided on any flaws
found.
 ultrasound travels through the liquid
glycol, through the rubber tire, through
the component, through the tire of the
second wheel, through the glycol to the
Receiving probe.
 pair of wheels are held in alignment by
a calliper type gantry that is
manipulated up and down as the gantry
is also incremented along the length of
the part.

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ADVANCED DIGITAL
ULTRASONIC FLAW DETECTOR

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 In Pulse–echo systems at regular intervals
electronic clock triggers pulser circuit
 Pulser imposes a short interval of high
frequency ac or unipolar negative spike on
transducer
 Clock simultaneously triggers sweep circuit
 A constant interval between pulses are
automatically incorporated in equipments
based on selected range
 Pulses are repeated 50 to 2000 times/sec
 The equipment-control that effects
constant interval is PRF/PRR/PPS
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 Theoretically maximum depth of
examination is controlled by PRF
 Practical limit depends on sound
attenuation in examination material, test
frequency & system sensitivity
 The PRR rate is chosen so that one pulse
travels the test specimen enough number
of times to dissipate sound energy to a
non-noticeable level, before next pulse is
triggered
 Time interval between pulses is 60 times
that of operating time Ta 29
 Calculation of PRF
 *Eg: 100 mm steel ; Velocity in Steel= 6mm/μsec
 Ultrasonic beam travel:100 ÷ 6=17; for to & fro 17+ 17=34 μsec
 For shear wave testing : Ta becomes Ta ÷055=1.8Ta

Pulse
Operating PRF
Range spacing
Time-Ta 106 ÷ 60Ta
60Ta
mm μsec μsec Hz
10 3.4 204 5000
60x34=
100 34* 500
2040
500 170 10000 100

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