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Ultrasonic Testing
Ultrasonic Testing
Introduction
High-frequency sound waves are sent out at a material
to find material changes
A pulser produces an electrical pulse that causes a
piezoelectric transducer to send out a sound wave
Reflected waves are transformed back into electrical
signals by the transducer and analyzed
Its main applications are in thickness gauging and flaw
detection
Background
Originated from sonar technology, which was developed
just before World War II
Sonar uses technique of bouncing echoes off of
submerged objects to detect them
Ultrasonics, a form of nondestructive testing, was
applied to “safe life” design, which ensures that
structures don’t develop macroscopic defects during its
life, and any detection led to its removal
Background (cont’d)
In the early 1970’s, ultrasonic testing had made large
strides and could detect extremely small defects or
discontinuities in metals
An unforeseen downside was that many manufacturers
were now discarding more metal parts that were deemed
satisfactory earlier
This in turn led to fracture mechanics, which allowed the
determination of whether “a crack of a given size would
fail under a certain load if the fracture toughness were
known (ndt-ed.org).”
Background (cont’d)
Fracture mechanics allowed for the concept of fail safe
design, which stated that structures could have defects
as long as they would not grow to cause failure.
Over the past few years, ultrasonic testing has become
more popular due to advances in both computer and
information technology
Theory and Technique
High frequency sound energy is used to find such
things as material flaws and dimensional
measurement
Items needed to run an ultrasonic test:
Pulser/receiver unit
Piezoelectric transducer
Display devices
The Role of Each Device
A pulser/receiver creates a high voltage
electrical pulse, which is sent throught the
material in the form of propagating sound waves
by the transducer
Any discontinuity or flaw in the material will
cause some energy to reflect back
The reflected waves are converted into an
electrical signal by the transducer and amplified
by the receiver for signal processing
The Role of Each Device (cont’d)
The amplified electrical signal is then displayed on
a screen
The reflected signal strength is often displayed vs.
time b/w signal generation and echo reception
D= vt/2 for normal beam inspection of
discontinuities, different for angle beams
This can lead to info on the flaw’s size, location,
and orientation among other things
Picture Gallery
Transducer
Test Specimen
Pulser/Receiver
Display Device
Pros
Advantages
Sensitive to both surface and subsurface
discontinuities
Penetration depth is better than other NDT methods
With pulse-echo, access to only one side is needed
Highly accurate in regards to reflector size, shape,
and location
Minimal part preparation
Cons
Disadvantages
Surface must be accessible to transmit ultrasound
More training required relative to other methods
Coupling medium is normally required to promote
transfer of sound
Has difficulty inspecting rough, small, or irregularly
shaped objects
Linear defects parallel to sound beam may go
undetected
Piezoelectric Transducers
PT’s contain polarized material
When electric charge is
applied, dipoles are induced
and dimensions change
If a force is placed on the
material, it will change
dimensions and create an
electric field
The Piezoelectric Effect
Crystal material at rest: No forces applied,
so net current flow is 0
Crystal
+-+-+-
Current Meter
=0
Crystal
Crystal material with forces applied
in direction of arrows………..
-----
Force
Current Meter
+++++
deflects in +
direction
++++
Force
Current Meter
deflects in -
----- direction
++++ + side
power source
(battery)
----- - side